A Conservative MP has warned the government that banning conversion therapies which target gay or transgender people could lead to “dreadful unintended consequences.”
Rishi Sunak’s government is thought to be considering introducing legislation during the King’s Speech on Nov. 7 but has not confirmed the decision.
Last week the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) wrote to women and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, insisting a ban on conversion therapy was “needed.”
‘Canadian Parents ... Risk Prosecution’
Ms. Cates said: “Canadian parents who want to seek help for children experiencing distress about their gender could now risk prosecution and jail sentences. In Victoria, Australia, it is now a criminal offence for a parent to refuse a child’s request for puberty blockers or ‘gender-affirming’ care.”The Conservative Party is reportedly split down the middle on so-called conversion therapy and has changed course numerous times.
In 2018 then Prime Minister Theresa May promised to end the practice of conversion therapy but she was later replaced by Boris Johnson who, in 2020, reiterated the plan to forbid it, only to backtrack and rule out including therapies which targeted transgender people.
In Jan. 2023 Mr. Sunak’s government said they would introduce a “trans-inclusive” ban.
Ms. Cates wrote, “Last week it emerged a Conversion Practices Bill was being considered for the King’s Speech.”
In her article, she claimed such legislation was unnecessary.
“The sorts of things that people think of as ‘gay conversion therapy’ include electric shock treatment and physical abuse, appalling practices that were shamefully and indefensibly used against homosexuals in the past. But these abuses are, thankfully, already illegal through existing legislation that covers sexual abuse, coercion, and grievous bodily harm,” she pointed out.
She said ministers had, “not been unable to provide a worked example of a single additional conversion practice that they wish to outlaw.”
Ms. Cates said it was, “increasingly clear that children need to be protected from radical gender ideology,” and she pointed out the Tavistock clinic scandal.
‘Chilling Effect on Free Speech’
She wrote, “A Conversion Practices Bill would have a chilling effect on free speech and on our voters, which is a doubly unwise course of action before a general election.”Campaigners have repeatedly called for conversion therapy—which seeks to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity—to be outlawed, saying it has “ruined” lives with its attempts “cure” LGBT people of being themselves.
The chair of the EHRC, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, said their, “position remains that legislation to ban harmful conversion practices is needed, and that thorough and detailed scrutiny remains imperative to ensure that any ban is fully effective in protecting people with the protected characteristics of sexual orientation and gender reassignment from harm, while avoiding any unintended consequences.”
In her letter to Ms. Badenoch, Baroness Falkner said: “I hope to see this legislation in the forthcoming King’s Speech. We, of course, remain happy to engage and provide advice if required on the equality and human rights implications of any proposals.”
Baroness Falkner admitted it was a, “complex and sensitive area with the potential to have wide-ranging impacts” and said any legislation must be, “carefully considered to ensure it uses clear terminology and definitions, and is proportionate and evidence-based.”
Earlier this month, the shadow women and equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds said a Labour government would introduce a “no loopholes” ban on all conversion therapies.
