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Call to action

Revise F65: Annual report 2009 and a request for support

The ICD diagnoses of Fetishism, Sadomasochism and Transvestism

WHO has started the revision process of ICD from version 10 to 11. Revise F65 asks for your support.

First of all we want to thank all our friends at home and abroad for the cooperation in 2009. Not at least we thank our Swedish friends who made it possible for Sweden to remove fetish and SM diagnoses from January 1, 2009. We can assure you that the Swedish decision has made a great impression on the people responsible for the ICD revision in The World Health Organization, WHO.

WHO is now undergoing the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, and the ICD-11 alpha draft is expected to be ready by May 10, 2010.

According to Senior Project Officer Dr. Geoffrey M. Reed, responsible for the revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioural Disorders at WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, substantial changes in the ICD are dependent upon broad scientific and political support.

”It will be helpful for the recommendations to come from as broad an international coalition as possible, if possible with the formal involvement or endorsement of scientific and professional societies or governments.”
Mail to Revise F65 September 25, 2009.

Revise F65 therefore asks for testimony, quoted reference and supporting evidence from psychiatrists, psychologists, sexologists, researchers of human sexuality and organizations world wide in order to remove Fetishism, Sadomasochism and Transvestic Fetishism as diagnoses from ICD, the International Classification of Diseases published by WHO. Such statements should be sent to Revise F65 (mail: sskeid(A)online.no), and will be forwarded by us to WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

As Dr. Reed also emphasizes, it is of great importance that as many countries as possible change their national diagnoses of Fetishism, Fetishistic transvestism and Sadomasochism. The more countries that change their national ICD versions, the bigger is the chance that WHO will follow suit.

Denmark removed the Transvestism and Sadomasochism diagnoses from their national version of the ICD in 1994/95 http://www.revisef65.org/denmark.html

Sweden removed all their fetish and SM diagnoses 1st of January 2009  http://www.revisef65.org/Sweden.html

After several delays in 2009, the Norwegian Directorate of Health has been instructed by the Ministry of Health and Care Services to remove the diagnoses of Transvestism, Fetishism and Sadomasochism from the Norwegian version of ICD-10. “The Directorate of Health aims to bring the decision into force by February 1, 2010″, the Directorate writes in a letter to Revise F65, December 21, 2009.

Revise F65 recommends to abolish the following ICD diagnoses because they are superfluous, outdated, non scientific and stigmatizing.

F65.0 Fetishism

F65.1 Fetishistic transvestism

F65.5 Sadomasochism

F65.6 Multiple disorders of sexual preference

F64.1 Dual-role transvestism

See health political and professional arguments at:

http://www.revisef65.org/icd_whitepaper.html

Regards,

Svein Skeid,

Leader of Revise F65

Examples of statements, quotes and evidence of support:

http://www.revisef65.org/europride3.html

Read our ”annual report” 2009 (included Revise F65 efforts since 1994):

http://www.revisef65.org/about3.html