Clerics call for ban on ‘gay conversions’

More than 300 religious leaders from 35 countries yesterday called for a ban on “conversion therapies” which attempt to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The call for an end to the practice, often done in the name of a religious faith, was issued in a statement by the British Ozanne Foundation before a London conference.

Among the signatories were representatives of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh faiths, including Nobel Peace Prize winner and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

“We call for all attempts to change, suppress or erase a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression – commonly known as conversion therapy – to end and for these harmful practices to be banned,” the signatories said.

The practice is sometimes referred to as “reparative therapy” but experts widely regard it as pseudo-scientific, ineffective and dangerous.

It has drawn particular attention in the US, where it has affected hundreds of thousands of individuals.

But a report published by the New York-based LGBT advocacy group OutRight Action International has said it exists “nearly everywhere in the world”.

Brazil, Ecuador, Malta, Taiwan, Switzerland as well as parts of Australia, Canada and the United States have banned conversion therapy. The UK and Ireland are preparing national bans.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has regularly promised to ban conversion therapy, calling it “absolutely abhorrent”.

The London conference is funded by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.