The Aversion Project was a medical torture programme in South Africa led by Aubrey Levin[1] during apartheid.
The project identified gay soldiers and conscripts who used drugs in the South African Defence Forces (SADF).
[citation needed] However, with the supposed toleration of homosexuality came forced 'therapy,' such as compulsion shock therapy, castration, and other forms of 'therapy', which were said to significantly violate basic human rights.
[3] During the course of the shock therapy, treatment electrodes were strapped to the upper arm with wires, then run through a dial calibrated from 1 to 10, varying the current.
'[3] Due to the lack of scientific evidence to prove that these procedures have the ability to alter sexuality, they began declining in frequency during the 1970s, when treatment for homosexual soldiers was no longer supported by the field of mental health.
Homosexual individuals who were targets of the conversion therapy, along with their families and friends, were interviewed in order to obtain in-depth, first-hand experiences of those directly impacted.
This raised concerns about the research project, as the committee clearly did not want this to be an investigation into the practices of medical officials involved in the military.
As many as 900 homosexuals, mostly 16 to 24-year-olds who had been drafted, were subjected to surgical procedures to alter their genitals and given birth certificates to fit their modified anatomy.
Without adequate mental preparation for such a significant personal change, patients also faced depression, leading many to commit suicide.