Horrors of the Aversion Project
How were soldiers subjected to conversion therapy?
4.1 (25)
32 mins
Explore the disturbing history of South Africa's military Aversion Project, a program during apartheid that targeted gay and lesbian service members and sought to suppress their sexual orientation. Discover the vile use of psychiatric treatment, forced medication, electroshock and other abusive practices reported by former patients and documented by researchers. View how the program reflected the broader discrimination against LGBTQ+ people within the apartheid-era military and society.
Ep 1:
The Doctor Who Weaponized Medicine
In apartheid South Africa's rigidly militarized society, a psychiatrist named Aubrey Levin found gay soldiers the perfect targets for a terrifying new kind of 'treatment.'
Ep 2:
Inside Ward 22: Doctor Shock's Domain
Meet Aubrey Levin, the colonel-doctor nicknamed 'Doctor Shock,' and step inside Ward 22, where electroconvulsive torture masqueraded as a cure for homosexuality.
Ep 3:
Greeffswald and the Final Solution
When shock therapy failed, Levin escalated to brutal labor camps and forced sex-change surgeries on hundreds of young conscripts, chasing a cure that never existed.
Ep 4:
No Justice, Just Silence
Levin fled to Canada and kept offending for decades—until a hidden camera finally exposed him, raising hard questions about what justice really means for his survivors.
Discussions (5)
Francine
Level 6 · 1 day agoThe Lavender Scare comparison checks out. The U.S. did purge gay federal employees in the 1950s under Eisenhower, framing them as security risks susceptible to Soviet blackmail.
Michael
Level 4 · 1 day agoSo Levin packed up his office so fast that his successor had to mail his stuff to Canada. That says everything.
Zachery
Level 6 · 1 day ago5 years wasn't enough bro
