Conversion therapy is a practice that aims to change people's sexual orientation or gender identity.
In May this year, Liz Truss announced her intention to introduce a bill that bans conversion therapy.
On October 29, the government has progressed the bill with Truss launching a six-week consultation on the best way to legislate for such a ban.
The consultation which will run till December 10 is meant to allow individuals to express their views on these proposals, make any amendments and decide the most effective way to impose the ban.
A bill will be then drawn up by next spring, with the aim of putting it on to the statute book by May 2022.
Besides the consultation a research report on the impact of conversion therapy, completed by Coventry University, will also be published.
Will conversion therapy be banned in UK?
Under the government’s proposals, all kinds of conversion therapy will be banned in England and Wales for anyone under the age of 18 as well as adults who are vulnerable and not able to properly consent.
But the Government Equalities Office said though they plan to crack down “coercive and abhorrent” practices they don’t “intend to ban adults from seeking such counselling freely.”
This means that the proposed bill will only restrict conversion therapy and not completely ban it with non-vulnerable adults being allowed to seek out the therapy if they consent to it.
What will the proposals to ban conversion therapy include?
The government’s proposals which are being consulted includes :
- Ensuring that physical conversion therapy acts are sentenced appropriately and introducing a new offence for so-called talking conversion therapies.
- Clamping down on conversion therapy by making it a potential aggravating factor for a longer jail sentence
- Holding anyone found guilty of conversion therapy offences accountable and making sure that any profit they obtained from those crimes are removed, as well as strengthening the case for individuals to be disqualified from holding a senior role in a charity if they are convicted of a conversion therapy offence
- Introducing Conversion Therapy Protection Orders to protect potential victims from undergoing the practice, including abroad with measures including removing passports of potential victims, who are at risk of being taken overseas for conversion therapy
- Exploring further measures to prevent the promotion of conversion therapy
The government will make funding available to support victims of conversion therapy practices. A competitive tendering process for a new government-funded support service for victims and those at risk of conversion therapy will also be launched in November.
