It is 2021 and some people still find it hard to believe that there can be more than two genders, and a gynaecologist in Spain seems to be one of these people.

A woman visited the Reina Sofía hospital in the city of Murcia for a check-up. When she was handed over the report, a piece of paper read “Current illness: homosexual”.

This ‘diagnosis’ left the girl and her mother shocked. “At first, I thought it was funny, but it just isn’t,” the 19-year-old woman said.

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The mother-daughter duo lodged a formal complaint with the Murcia’s regional government, the regional health ministry, and the regional health service with the help of local LGBT collective, Galactyco.

It has been alleged that the doctor still views homosexuality as an illness, which is now not only illegal but also defies human rights.

“The World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses in 1990, and yet, 31 years on, there are still some professionals in Murcia’s health service who view sexual orientation as an illness,” Galactyco said in a statement.

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Highlighting the discrimination, violence and the denigrating treatment that the LGTBQ community face on a daily basis because of such mindset, the group said it is seeking an explanation and an apology from the doctor and the hospital.

“Given that for centuries this error involved stigmatizing, discriminatory, violent and denigrating treatment towards all people whose sexual orientation was different from heterosexuality, from this group we publicly denounce the manifest ignorance with lgtbiphobic overtones that involves relating sexual orientation with disease,” the statement read. “Likewise, we accuse the Regional Government of Murcia, the Ministry of Health, and the Murcian Health System, of institutional neglect to apply Law 8/2016 of May 27, of social equality of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, transgender and intersex, and public policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, which after 5 years passed remains as a legislative ornament.”

The group has sent letters to the Ministry and the SMS demanding apology and have also asked that all employees be trained with proper information and sensitivity on homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality and intersexuality.