Peers launch new attempt to ban conversion therapy after Tory delays and U-turns
Peers will this week launch a fresh bid to ban so-called conversion therapy with unlimited fines for those found guilty of practising or offering to practise such "treatments".
The Conversion Therapy Prohibition (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) Bill faces its second reading in the House of Lords on Friday, more than five and a half years since former Prime Minister Theresa May first vowed to clamp down on harmful attempts to "cure" people of their sexuality or gender identity.
After a series of U-turns and repeated delays, the Government recommitted to banning so-called conversion therapy last January but failed to include the draft Conversion Therapy Bill in the King's Speech in November. In the run up to the Speech, more than 40 Tory MPs were reported to have signed a letter demanding Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ditch the proposal, with Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart later suggesting that concerns about legislation "accidentally criminalising parents or teachers" had delayed the Bill.
Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Burt of Solihull, who tabled the Private Members' Bill, told the Mirror: "For five years, the Conservatives have broken their promise to deliver a ban on conversion therapy – so it's time for us Liberal Democrats to bring progress forward. Sexuality or gender identity is not a problem to be ‘cured’. It's who we are, and it's deeply disturbing that these practices still happen in our own country today.
"I have been working with parliamentarians from all parties to get this through the House of Lords. It's important to me to do everything in our power to finally deliver the change the LGBT+ community deserves.” The Government's most recent National LGBT Survey in 2017 found that 13% of trans people and 7% of all LGBTQ+ people had undergone or been offered conversion therapy, mainly in religious contexts.
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Baroness Burt's Bill defines "conversion therapy" as any practice which has the "intended purpose" of attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Dr Aidan Kelly, a clinical psychologist specialising in gender identity, said: "A ban on so-called conversion therapy would send a clear signal that we acknowledge the harm done by the practice.
"While a ban will not be able to undo the harm caused to those who have been subject to the practice, it might offer some sense of validation that their identity, as something that is as innate as eye colour, is not something which they need to be 'cured'.”
It comes as Labour leader Keir Starmer described so-called conversion therapy as "psychologically damaging abuse" at an LGBT+ Labour event last week and pledged to implement a fully trans-inclusive ban if his party wins power at the next election. A Government spokesman said: "No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at so-called 'conversion therapy' are abhorrent. That is why we are carefully considering this complex issue. We intend to put our draft Bill forward for pre-legislative scrutiny as a further safeguard against unintended consequences."
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