UK Government Moves Forward to Ban Conversion Therapy, But Not for Trans People
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made several U-turns before announcing the country’s LGBTQ conversion therapy ban will move forward for gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, but not for transgender people.
U.K. news broadcaster ITV exposed a document from Johnson’s office which says that the prime minister decided not to outlaw the practice: “We should not move forward with legislation to ban LGBT conversion therapy.”
According to IVT, the document admits that there will be a “noisy backlash from LGBT groups and some parliamentarians when we announce we do not intend to proceed.”
After the document was released, the negative reaction from conservative prime ministers and others made Johnson reconsider his decision.
One conservative Member of Parliament (MP) told Paul Brand, IVT news editor, “I sent the PM a message directly saying I was ashamed. And lots of other colleagues have, too.”
The document also says that the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis could be given as reasons why the government could no longer ahead with its plan to ban conversion therapy.
A National LGBTQ Survey research report from 2018 found out that 9% of trans men have been offered conversion therapy, and 4% had undergone it; faith organizations were the most likely group to have conducted conversion therapy, and 51% of those to those who receive it had it conducted by faith groups.
Crispin Blunt, a conservative MP, told The Guardian it was “disappointing that our prime minister has yet to fully appreciate the sensitivities and complexities around gender identity as well as sexuality.”
Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty International U.K. also told The Guardian that “a ban on conversion therapy that excludes trans and nonbinary people is not a real ban on conversion therapy. Human rights cannot be applied selectively.”
Victims, activists, artist, and government officials have complained about Johnson’s decision for excluding trans people from the conversion therapy.
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