Government criticised for delaying conversion therapy ban five years after ministers vowed to ban it

The government has been criticised for not yet banning conversion therapy, five years after it announced it would end the practice.

The LGBT+ rights charity Stonewall said lives have been "ruined" by attempts to "cure" lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of being themselves.

The Government, then led by Theresa May, first vowed to ban conversion practices in July 2018.

At the time the then-prime minister described conversion therapy as “abhorrent” and something she was shocked to find out still went on.

She said: "I think it has no place in modern Britain."

Since then there have been years of delays and U-turns, with the Government saying in January that it would "shortly" publish a draft Bill.

At that stage, it pledged to ban conversion therapy for "everyone", including transgender people.

When the Government initially announced its consultation into the conversion therapy ban, its "universal" proposals were intended to protect all LGBT+ people.

But in March 2022, then-prime minister Boris Johnson dramatically dropped plans for legislation, later defending a decision not to include trans people by saying there were "complexities and sensitivities" to be worked through.

In January this year, Michelle Donelan, then-secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said ministers recognised the "strength of feeling on the issue of harmful conversion practices", adding that it was right the issue was tackled "through a dedicated and tailored legislative approach."

She described it as a "complex area", adding the legislation "must not, through a lack of clarity, harm the growing number of children and young adults experiencing gender-related distress, through inadvertently criminalising or chilling legitimate conversations parents or clinicians may have with their children."

In June, ITV News UK Editor Paul Brand revealed a bill was now ready to be presented to parliament and it was waiting for Rishi Sunak's final send-off.

He also revealed it would have a significant loophole, which would allow the practice to continue if the person volunteered for the therapy.

Campaigners for a ban argue that the vast majority of people who receive conversion therapy willingly volunteer themselves, given the pressures and turmoil that they often feel about their sexuality or gender identity.

On Monday, marking the five-year anniversary of the government’s promise on the ban, campaigners have called for urgent action.

Jayne Ozanne, from the Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition, accused the Government of having "tried every trick in the book to delay and frustrate bringing forward this life-saving legislation".

She added: "One can only conclude that they do not want to protect LGBT+ people and that they are only interested in stoking manufactured ‘culture wars’ at the expense of vulnerable people’s lives. It is all an absolute disgrace, which the British public will find hard to forgive."

A spokesperson for the government’s equality hub said: "This Government is committed to protecting people at risk from conversion practices.

"As part of this we will publish a draft Bill setting out our approach, which will be scrutinised by a Joint Committee of both Houses in this parliamentary session.

"This will allow for in-depth analysis and challenge to test the policy and drafting and ensure we address any risk of unintended impacts."