The UK Government has set out proposals to ban the practice of LGBT conversion therapy vide press release dated October 29, 2021. Key highlights of the proposal are:
- Government launches consultation on how to make coercive conversion therapies illegal.
- Ensuring physical conversion therapy acts are sentenced appropriately and introducing a new offence for so-called talking conversion therapies
- Ensuring those found guilty of conversion therapy offences have any profit they obtained from those crimes removed, and strengthening the case for individuals to be disqualified from holding a senior role in a charity where they are convicted of a conversion therapy offence
- Introducing Conversion Therapy Protection Orders to protect potential victims from undergoing the practice, including abroad – this could include 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
- Proposed new laws will protect LGBT people, and especially under 18s, ensuring individuals cannot promote or profit from this harmful practice.
- Government to fund support for victims of conversion therapy, including helpline.
It is a 6-week consultation which will allow people to express their opinions on these proposals so as to work with the government to develop an effective ban.
Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.
