Time to ban gay conversion therapy

THIS summer marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality, based on recommendations featured in the Wolfenden report.

During that period we have achieved an equal age of consent, civil partnerships, same-sex adoption, fostering and surrogacy rights and protections against anti-LGBT hate speech and discrimination.

Transgender people are allowed to transition on the National Health Service and the process of changing documentation is much easier. And, most recently, same-sex marriage is finally recognised in law.

But the Government is still dragging its feet on an extremely important human rights issue – the emotionally detrimental practice of so-called “gay conversion therapy”.

Conversion therapy is a supposed “treatment” for same-sex attraction and gender dysmorphia. No reputable psychiatric or psychological body has condoned the entirely pseudo-scientific premise of this practice. On the contrary, there is a major consensus that “conversion therapy” is extremely dangerous and psychologically distressing. This junk science was banned by Maltese authorities just before Christmas – the first European nation to do so – and yet Theresa May’s government is following in the footsteps of her predecessor by declining to commit to taking progressive action towards the eradication of this barbaric practice.

The exploitative practice of “conversion therapy” effectively preys on people who are ashamed or insecure about their sexuality or gender identity, fraudulently claiming that LGBT people “suffer” from some “mental sickness” that is conveniently “curable” as long as you can pay for some hocus-pocus “treatment” discredited by medical experts.

I’d like to publicly urge the Government to examine this pressing issue more closely, and take appropriate steps to protect our dignity. Daniel Pitt Mountain Ash