LGBTQ+ people have nothing to be ashamed of and there is nothing wrong or broken about who they are.
Yet conversion practices are still legal in the UK today.
In July 2024, the UK Government announced its intention to bring forward draft legislation to finally ban conversion practices. More recently, following her new appointment, Minister for Equalities, Olivia Bailey MP, confirmed that she is committed to delivering a fully inclusive ban on conversion practices.
We are a coalition of organisations united in calling for the Government to Ban Conversion Practices. It has been more than seven years since the LGBTQ+ community and allies were promised legislation to ban these harmful practices. We are continuing to campaign for a ban that protects all LGBTQ+ people from abuse, with no loopholes or exemptions.
About conversion practices
Conversion practices are not health, natural and exploratory conversations; they are when an LGBTQ+ person is specifically being told they need curing or fixing. They include any medical, psychiatric, psychological, religious, cultural or any other interventions that seek to ‘change’, cure’, or suppress the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of a person.
For example, pseudo-scientific counselling sessions which are focussed on trying to suppress a person’s sexuality or being prayed over as a form of ‘healing’ a person’s identity. Conversion practices explicitly mark out LGBTQ+ identities as something in need of ‘fixing’.
Figures from the UK Government’s National LGBT Survey found that:
👉 7% of LGBT people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy.
👉 10% of asexual people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy.
👉 13% of trans people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy.
It’s time for conversion practices to be banned.
Conversion practices violate fundamental human rights, perpetuate discrimination, and cause significant long-term harm to people and communities. LGBTQ+ people deserve be safe and be protected from this abuse.
We must secure a legislative ban which makes conversion practices illegal:
Wherever it occurs – in public or private, through healthcare or religious and cultural interventions.
Whoever is targeted – whether a child or an adult, whether they are coerced or have been pressured into “consenting”.
From the moment it’s spotted – through advertising on and offline.
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