Edward was 27 when he started his conversion treatment in London. "Conversion practices have no place in the European Union… There is nothing to cure in LGBTIQ+ people," EU commissioner Hadja Labhib told EUobserver. Based on stories of survivors interviewed by EUobserver, conversion practices have shifted from brutal abuse, such as electric shocks, exorcisms, and sexual violence, to more subtle psychological and spiritual manipulation presented as "support groups" or "spiritual renewal" programmes. "With conversion practices, you stop seeing the 'pray the gay away' type of language because there's more societal awareness." "I was a part of a Pentecostal church and really believed that God was able to change me, change my sexuality."