New plans to outlaw conversion therapy will not protect trans people
The UK government’s prospective legislation to ban conversion therapy will apply to lesbian, gay, and bisexual folk, but is not set to be trans-inclusive.
Image by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
Downing Street’s decision to exclude trans and non-binary people from the forthcoming conversion therapy ban has sparked outrage among the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
Although Boris Johnson had initially promised to ensure that the long-awaited ban on conversion therapy would cover everyone who identifies as LGBT, he retracted this commitment after receiving backlash from members of his party last week.
Anti-conversion therapy campaigner and member of the Church of England’s General Synod, Jayne Ozanne, called the prime minister’s decision “by far the most significant betrayal of trust that the LGBT+ community has experienced in years.”
In response to the government’s announcement, over 80 LGBTQ+ organisations have boycotted the UK’s first planned global LGBTQ+ conference, which was due to go ahead this July in London. The now cancelled Safe To Be Me event had originally aimed to provide a space for LGBTQ+ activists and marginalised groups to join forces with government officials and policy makers and proposed to focus on “legislative reform, tackling violence and discrimination, and ensuring equal access to public services for LGBT people.” The conference had intended to commemorate 50 years since London’s first official pride marches.
What is conversion therapy?
Conversion therapy refers to any kind of pseudoscientific treatment or psychotherapy that attempts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It is only ever conducted on people who do not adhere to the heteronormative or gender-conforming expectations that we have constructed as a society.
This barbaric, coercive practice is upheld by the notion that anyone who identifies as ‘queer’ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans) is mentally unstable and can be cured of their ills. All forms of conversion therapy are extremely harmful, unethical, and invariably detrimental to psychological well-being.
According to former government equality advisor, Jayne Ozanne, more extreme practices have been known to involve “exorcisms, physical violence and food deprivation.”
In a 2017 government survey, it was found that 8% of trans people had been offered conversion therapy, and 4% were persuaded to undergo conversion.
The Government’s take
A government spokesperson has said that No 10’s decision to not outlaw conversion therapy for gender-questioning individuals can be justified as a result of “the complexity of issues and need for further careful thought.”
Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, has also defended the revised policy, which will only protect LGB people. In an interview with Sky News, he stated that a “more sensitive approach” must be taken for trans people.
Although Mr Javid initially agreed with Sky’s Kay Burley that it is not “acceptable to administer an electric shock to someone who feels they are in the wrong body”, he went on to argue that it is “absolutely right” to ban conversion therapy for LGB people, but “when it comes to trans, I do think that we need to be more careful.”
The Health Secretary then referenced an interim report by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, commenting: “When (young people) say they have gender dysphoria, it is right for medical experts to be able to question that and to determine what the cause might be.”
"Is it a genuine case of gender identity dysphoria or could it be that that individual is suffering from some child sex abuse, for example, or could it be linked to bullying?”
However, some 50 conservative MPs have denounced Mr Johnson’s decision and are putting pressure on the government to revert back to their original commitment.
Tory MP, Crispin Blunt, revealed that he felt disappointed that the prime minister
“has yet to fully appreciate the sensitivities and complexities around gender identity as well as sexuality.”
Another conservative MP, Jamie Wallis, who only came out as trans last week, publicly stated his disapproval of the government’s decision. In a Twitter thread, Mr Wallis said that he was “bitterly disappointed at the Government’s decision not to include gender identity in the ban on conversion therapy” and “it is wrong to exclude protections for a whole group of people from a practice described as ‘abhorrent’”
Iain Anderson’s resignation
The government’s U-turn on previously promised legislative plans has led the UK’s LGBTQ+ business champion, Iain Anderson, to resign from his role.
Mr Anderson issued a letter to the prime minister to voice his condemnation of the policy change. He expressed his gratitude to have been able to serve as LGBT+ champion, but said that following the government’s decision he had “no choice” but to step down from his role.
In his letter, he stated: "I could never have dreamt then that a government - any government - would appoint an LGBT+ champion later in my lifetime.
"However the recent leaking of a plan to drop the government's flagship legislation protecting LGBT+ people from conversion therapy was devastating. Conversion therapy is abhorrent."
He added: "Only hours later to see this plan retracted but briefing take place that trans people would be excluded from the legislation and therefore not have the same immediate protections from this practice was deeply damaging to my work.”
Trans people have been subjected to hostility, neglect, and discrimination by policy makers time and time again, and we cannot continue to stand by and watch. Human rights cannot be selectively applied - we must take action now and fight for trans rights.
Sign this petition to protect trans people under any conversion therapy ban, or alternatively, create your own campaign or petition on Find Others.
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