PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Demand the World Bank Stop Supporting Groups Trying to "Cure" Gay People
  1. Signatures
    265 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. Lead, Corporate Responsibility Team (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Lead, Corporate Responsibility Team (Judith Moore)
      • Communications Office (Alejandra Viveros)
  2. Created By
    Michael Jones
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Does the World Bank think that your sexual orientation can be cured? Well, maybe not officially, but that's not stopping the World Bank from funneling money to an organization that not only tries to convert people from homosexuality to heterosexuality, but also has ties to Uganda's "Kill the Gays" bill. Perhaps the World Bank is adjusting their mission statement: "Working for a World Free of Poverty ... and Free of Gay People."

As Metro Weekly notes, the World Bank has allowed a controversial ex-gay group -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) -- to join the ranks of its Community Outreach Program, a workplace-giving campaign that allows employees of the World Bank to give money to an organization, and have that money matched by a contribution from the World Bank. Depending on how many employees decide to give money to PFOX, the World Bank will give anywhere from 50 percent to 100 percent in a matching donation.

Which means that in the months ahead, the World Bank will be giving money directly to an organization that believes homosexuality can be cured. On top of that, as Truth Wins Out notes, a former PFOX board member, Richard Cohen (who still serves as a therapy guru to the organization), was intimately involved in efforts to create legislation in Uganda that would punish homosexuality with the death penalty or life imprisonment.

And it gets even shadier. The director of PFOX's Speakers Bureau, Abba Goldberg, is a convicted felon who was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for bilking poor communities with bond schemes. And PFOX has also had its tactics condemned by the worldwide psychological and medical profession, with leaders from the organization being thrown out of professional groups like the American Counseling Association for violating ethical protocols.

Wow, if the World Bank is willing to lend credence to an organization like PFOX, what does it say about their overall credibility? For the World Bank, it looks like corporate social responsibility equals corporate endorsement of curing gay people.

Send the World Bank a message that they shouldn't endorse in any way, shape or form programs that try to "cure" gay people. They're dangerous, psychologically debunked, and harmful. The World Bank, simply put, should know better.

Recent Signatures

Do not support programs trying to "cure" gay people

Dear Ms. Moore and Ms. Viveros,

I am deeply troubled that the World Bank decided to include a controversial "ex-gay" group in its 2010-2011 Community Action Program. That group -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) -- has been universally condemned by the worldwide psychological and medical community for their tactics to "cure" gay people, and has very shady ties to harsh anti-gay legislation around the world.

A former PFOX board member, Richard Cohen (who still serves as a therapy guru to the organization), was intimately involved in efforts to create legislation in Uganda that would punish homosexuality with the death penalty or life imprisonment. And the director of PFOX's Speakers Bureau, Abba Goldberg, is a convicted felon who was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for bilking poor communities with bond schemes. Leaders from the organization have also been thrown out of professional groups like the American Counseling Association for violating ethical protocols.

I cannot believe that the World Bank would lend credence to an organization like PFOX. Moreover, PFOX does not fit the guidelines set forth by your Community Action Program. Your guidelines say that an organization must have a substantial presence in the D.C. are. Yet PFOX's headquarters are nearly 130 miles outside of D.C., and in 2009, a report by the Washington City Paper revealed that the organization has no significant presence in D.C. at all.

I urge you to rescind your endorsement of PFOX, an remove them from your Community Action Program. They are a dangerous organization working under the false precept of "curing" homosexuality. I can't believe that the World Bank would condone that sort of activity.

Thank you for your time.

[Your name]

Press Inquiries