The WHO removes homosexuality from its list of diseases

On 17 May 1990, the forty-third World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10 for short. With it, homosexuality disappeared from the list of mental disorders. For gay and lesbian people around the world, this was a turning point, for until then the most important medical reference work had listed them as ill.

The ninth revision of 1977 had still listed homosexuality among the neurotic and personality disorders. The American Psychiatric Association had already abandoned this classification in 1973; the WHO took another seventeen years. So for a long time, a catalogue of enormous weight remained in place that could lend prejudice a seemingly scientific veneer.

For the full story: the 1990 decision was initially a declaration of intent. The change only became official with the publication of ICD-10 in 1992. The WHO encouraged its member countries to follow the recommendation over the following years. Nevertheless, the day of the vote remained the date the movement referred to.

The French activist Louis-Georges Tin took it up in 2004 and proposed a day of action. Since then, 17 May has been commemorated as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, IDAHOBIT for short, marking the WHO's step. In 2024, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria used the day to celebrate progress in Africa, such as decriminalisation in Mauritius, while pointing to harsher laws in Uganda and Ghana. The day still serves to raise awareness of discrimination. It also shows that an entry in a catalogue was only a beginning.