Statement from LCR Pride Foundation Chair Lewis Collins following the Government’s announcement of a consultation into banning Conversion Therapy:
“While it is good news to see the Government finally putting Conversion Therapy on the agenda more than 1300 days since it first pledged to ban the practice, it’s worrying to see that the dialogue around the issue is not firmly that these abhorrent practices need to be immediately banned in all forms.
“Instead, they have announced that what the ban looks like should be consulted on, something that our community has very little faith in following the recent ‘consultation’ into changes to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).
“Worryingly, there are already suggestions that some forms of conversion therapy – particularly those based in religious practice – may be allowed for ‘consenting adults’ which could create loopholes, meaning some forms of abuse will not be covered by the proposed ban.
“We believe that nothing short of an outright ban for Conversion Therapy practices, in all their forms, on all people and for all who carry them out is necessary. Anything less would be to not give the many victims of these practices justice and prevent further people from harm.
We encourage the community to take part in the consultation and to once again stand together, sending a clear message that Conversion Therapy should be banned now.”
Information on the consultation and how to respond can be found on the government website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/
You can also read about this in the media here:
PinkNews: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/
