Today the government announced the launch of its much-anticipated conversion therapy consultation. Those with an interest are now trawling through the pages online to sniff out bias.
The legislation upon which the government is now consulting will include new offences targeting both physical and talking conversion therapy. Just as with measures to prevent children being forced into marriages abroad, Conversion Therapy Protection Orders will give courts the power to seize the passports of under 18s who are at risk of being taken out of the country. Under the proposals, medical professionals such as psychiatrists and doctors will escape sanctions, but charities will be barred from attempting to change sexual orientation or gender identity.
Equalities Minister Liz Truss first announced that conversion therapy would be banned in May. This followed a sustained global campaign to outlaw the practice. Lobby group ILGA, who have produced extensive guidance about how to change the law across the world, report other countries to recently introduce legislation include Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Chile, France, Ireland, Poland and New Zealand.
Unusually the consultation is running for six, not twelve weeks. This appears to be a response to campaigners, including Peter Tatchell, who have lobbied the government to ‘stop dithering’ and launched a website to that effect.
Critics, including clinicians, are concerned that a blanket ban could prevent therapists from helping those gender dysphoria be reconciled with their bodies. This would particularly impact same-sex attracted youth.
Tellingly, despite having significant funding, a joint survey undertaken by the UK’s biggest LGBT+ charities found only 51 respondents in the whole of the UK who said they had been through conversion therapy. Those who identified as ‘gender diverse’, ‘asexual’ and ‘agender’ also claimed to be victims of attempts to change their identity and orientation. This raises questions about the future legality of helping people to recover from trauma, which is known to sometimes trigger both gender dysphoria and a disinterest in sex.
Of those who had undergone the practice, 15 reported being subjected to ‘emotional healing’ and 19 to ‘talk therapy.’ Responses deemed ‘transphobic’ were excluded from the survey; report authors complained that some people ‘took the opportunity to write antitrans statements in every free-text box throughout the survey.’
Unusually the consultation is running for six, not twelve weeks. This appears to be a response to campaigners, including Peter Tatchell, who have lobbied the government to ‘stop dithering’ and launched a website to that effect.
Curiously, last night just as the consultation was launched The Times ran a story which suggested that the controversial charity Mermaids could be banned.
Sly attempts to over-emphasise the scale of the conversion therapy, and to sway the results seem to have been planned long in advance and some organisations have criticised the government for even seeking to consult on the new law. Galop have opened a dedicated phoneline for those ‘retraumatised’ by the consultation. Chief executive Leni Morris said:
“We’re launching our National Conversion Therapy Helpline to support the community and ensure that there is a safety net for victims as this national conversation continues.”
Curiously, last night just as the consultation was launched The Times ran a story which suggested that the controversial charity Mermaids could be banned. The paper reported ‘Trans rights groups said that the proposals risked having a “chilling effect” on free speech.’ A line in the government proposals which promises to disqualify those convicted of practising conversion therapy from “holding a senior role in a charity” does seem curiously specific. Cynics might be inclined to wonder whether this is an attempt to placate ‘both sides’.
Whilst some have welcomed the planned new law as potentially curtailing the influence of groups like Mermaids, others including pressure group Sex Matters, have serious concerns. Sex Matters argues that the new legislation would enshrine the legal concept of “transgender children”, that parents and therapists who resist affirming their child’s declared trans identity could be threatened with criminal sanctions and that it would open the door for charities to apply for “Conversion Therapy Protection Order”, removing a child’s passport.
Maya Forstater, Executive Director of Sex Matters, said:
“Threatening parents and those working with children with imprisonment for disagreeing with what Stonewall, Mermaids and Gendered Intelligence think is best for their children is truly frightening.”
Whatever the outcome of the consultation, it seems the outrage about the practice of conversion therapy far outweighs its prevalence.
Comments
No comments yet, be the first to leave a comment.