Response to the UK Government Consultation on Conversion Therapy
LGBT+ Glitterati and Together LGBTQ official response to the UK government consultation on banning conversion therapy
To what extent do you support, or not support, the government’s proposal for addressing physical acts of conversion therapy? Why do you think this?
So called "conversion therapy" practices are a barbaric and regressive form of abuse, which causes untold harm and lifelong trauma to those who experience it. It should be banned in all forms immediately.
Within our organisation two of our members have experience of conversion therapy, one in a religious setting, and one in a health setting, both at a young age and encouraged by their families.
My own personal experience was of being taken to the GP by my father, who asked the doctor if he could "cure" me of my apparently obvious homosexual tendencies. I was 5 years old. The doctor was unable to help my father, but this didn't discourage my father from trying to beat it out of me instead.
It is imperative that the UK Government listens to LGBT+ voices on this issue, and moves ahead with a comprehensive ban on all conversion therapy practices, in line with the many democratic nations who have outlawed such abusive and harmful attempts to coercively change a person's sexuality or gender identity.
One of the major propagators of harmful conversion therapy practices are religious groups: however it is important to note that in 2020 a group of over 370 religious leaders from across the world called for a ban on conversion therapy practices. As such, there is broad consensus within the religious community that a ban is necessary and that conversion therapy practices are morally wrong.
In spite of this, a small number of outliers may still seek to practice forms of conversion therapy in a religious setting, for moral and ethical reasons linked to faith.
We must be firm and clear that all forms of conversion therapy are wrong, and a ban should be comprehensive, with no leeway to allow unscrupulous practitioners to continue harming and abusing conversion therapy victims in faith based settings.
To what extent do you support, or not support, the Government's proposal for addressing physical acts of conversion therapy?
Strongly Support
All coercive attempts to change a person's sexuality or gender identity are harmful. The use of any physical acts in an attempt to change a person's sexuality or gender identity is abusive, traumatic for the individual and proven to be pointless, as no clear evidence base exists to show that such abuse results in the desired outcome. The most likely outcome is trauma and harm to the individual subjected to such practises – as such, any violent or physical attempts to change a person's sexuality or gender identity should be proscribed in law by any tolerant and inclusive society.
The Government considers that delivering talking therapy with the intention of changing a person’s sexual orientation or changing them from being transgender or to being transgender either to someone who is under 18, or to someone who is 18 or over and who has not consented or lacks the capacity to do so should be considered a criminal offence. The consultation document describes proposals to introduce new criminal law that will capture this. How far do you agree or disagree with this?
Strongly agree
How far do you agree or disagree with the penalties being proposed?
Strongly agree
Do you think that these proposals miss anything?
Yes
Our concern, as an LGBT+ led community organisation, is the wording and possible misinterpretation of the proposed laws as set out.
Primarily the use of the phrase "changing them from being transgender or to being transgender" - which is open to negative interpretations, as evidenced by reporting on the issue by The Times, under the headline "Urging change of gender to be criminalised" .
