DRAFT Grace - Conversion Therapy Ban

Transgender individuals are currently excluded from the ban on conversion therapy, which seeks to change sexual orientation or gender identity. This therapy is harmful and unnecessary, causing long-term harm to victims. About 13% of trans people have experienced or been offered conversion therapy. The UK government has promised to ban conversion therapy, but currently only prioritizes banning it for sexual orientation, not gender identity. There are concerns that banning gender identity conversion therapy could unintentionally criminalize parents or teachers offering support. However, people are not asking for all types of talk or practices to be banned, just the harmful ones. Another issue that transgender individuals face is the current exclusion from the conversion therapy ban. Conversion therapy is an intervention that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or their gender identity, and their main goal is to cure people. This ban is necessary as people do not need to be cured and it causes long-term harm to victims. 13% of trans people who have been subjected to or offered conversion therapy is close to 7% of the general LGBT respondents to a survey provided by Stonewall. 1 in 10 trans men have been offered it and 1 in 25 have undergone it in the UK in 2018. It has now been 5 years since the British government had promised for conversion therapy to be banned in the UK. The government is currently prioritising to ban conversion therapy for only sexual orientation. They have classed sexual orientation conversion therapy and gender identity conversion therapy as two separate things and have promised that gender identity conversion therapy will also aim to be banned at some point but will take a lot longer. This is due to worries that if trans conversion practices are banned this could unintentionally criminalise parents or teachers who are just trying to give advice to children struggling with their gender identities. Basically just wants to make sure that other practices can still be used. However, a crisis with this is that only the harmful interventions need to be banned. People are not wishing for all types of talk on practices to be banned.