LGBTQ+ Rights And The End For Conversion Therapy

LGBTQ+ Rights And The End For Conversion Therapy

Same sex marriage was legalised in 2013, only 8 years ago. Changes to legislation around the rights of the LGBTQ+ community have been slow and staggered, however, there is finally hope of significant change.

‘Conversion therapy’ aims to ‘correct’ a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and has been proven to be immensely harmful to those who go through the ordeal. The NHS has called the procedure “unethical and potentially harmful”, but ‘conversion therapy’ is still taking place legally in the UK. During the Queens speech on the 11th of May, she announced that the government plans to finally ban the practice, and the government later stated that “As soon as parliamentary time allows, and following a consultation, the ban will be introduced in parliamentary legislation”. It has also been announced that new funding will be provided alongside the ban to support victims of ‘conversion therapy’.

Stonewall’s ‘LGBT in Britain - Health Report’ found that one in twenty LGBT people have been pressured to access services to question or change their sexual orientation when accessing healthcare services. A 2009 Biomed Central study of just over 1300 accredited medical health professionals found that 4% reported that they would ‘attempt to change a client's sexual orientation if one consulted asking for such therapy’; 17% reported having assisted at least one patient to reduce or change their homosexual or lesbian feelings. The study concluded, “A significant minority of mental health professionals are attempting to help lesbian, gay and bisexual clients to become heterosexual. Given lack of evidence for the efficacy (success) of such treatments, this is likely to be unwise or even harmful.”

Despite the promise of a ban, the government has also said that it will “ensure the ban can address the practice while protecting the medical profession; defending freedom of speech; and upholding religious freedom”. This is an extremely disappointing statement, which suggests that the government will yet again prioritise religious freedom over the wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community. This is something we must resist.

To end on a positive note, on the 4th of May we saw the Gender Recognition Certificate fee reduced from £140 to £5, which has made legally reassigning your gender much more accessible for people in the UK. Something else to celebrate and look forward to is the UK hosting its first ever, global LGBT conference named ‘Safe To Be Me’. The event will focus on “making progress on legislative reform, tackling violence and discrimination, and ensuring equal access to public services for LGBT people” and is scheduled to take place on 27-29th June 2022.