> Subject: A Lesbian & Gay Youth Detention Center in Utah There's a blood-curdling piece in the latest Lambda Update (vol 10, #3, Fall '93) on the possible existence of an institution in Utah that attempts to "deprogram" gay youths against their will. If it wasn't for the respectability of the Update adn Lambda itself, I'd discard the story as tabloid sensationalism. Pretty scary stuff. It's too long for me to type by hand, so I'll have to try to OCR it for future posting. Here's an excerpt though: "Lambda, workign with the Center for Lesbian RIghts is investigating allegations that a Southern California school is sending gay and lesbian teenagers to an institution in Utah for aversion therapy or 'reparative therapy' to 'de-gay' them. The institution, known as Rivendell, is located in West Jordan, Utah ... It calls itself a residential treatment facility designed to treat youth with mental and emotional disorders.... One gay youth, a former Rivendell student, told the Los Angeles Reader that he was sent to the institution when he was fourteen years old after his parents found him in bed with another boy. He said ... he was evaluated for homosexuality in a session where electronic sensors were attached to his wrists and testicles to measure his responses to pictures of naked men and women. H eclaims that therapists ... attempted to teach him how to become attracted to women. [ ... ] Presently, Lambda is investigating ... the situation presented by one of Rivendell's former students, Lyn Duff. Duff is a young lesbian who is now 17 years old. In december of 1991, Duff's mother placed her ... to 'cure' her lesbianism. Duff says that during the course of a six-month confinement at Rivendell, she was forced to take neuroleptic drugs, placed in isolation, and subjected to hypnosis and behavior modification therapies in an attempt to give her a heterosexual orientation. [ ... ] But responsibility for this abuse does not rest with Rivendell alone. Certainly the parents are responsible. But the accountability does not end with them either. ... The South Pasadena School District and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health provided funding for Duff's 'treatment'... [ ... ] Fortunately for Lyn Duff, she escaped from Rivendell and from her mother; she has subsequently been adopted by a caring and compassionate lesbian family in San Francisco..." It's a great issue overall with lots of informative articles. I'd encourage all of you to become members of this leading civil rights groups. They even provide a membership card so you can call yourself a "card-carrying member." Students (amd limited income people) can join for only $25. Regular individual memberships are $40. Mail contributions to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., 666 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-9849. 212-995-8585. They also have some excellent publications out, including the free, "The Little Black Book: This One Can Keep You OUT of Trouble." It's the definitive non-lawyers guide on entrapment, what you can do about it, and how it affects evrything from child custody to employment. Join now ... perhaps I'll see you at some Lambda benefit.