“On reflection, it was something he cared passionately about.” This was the absurd explanation from a Downing Street spokesperson of the prime minister’s partial U-turn on scrapping a ban on conversion practices. The outcry at dropping the promised legislation prompted him to restore it, but it will now be limited to sexual orientation. Transgender conversion practices will not be included.
Boris Johnson’s convictions have always been largely a matter of convenience. But the abhorrence most people feel towards conversion practices is deeply rooted. And it is most; in a YouGov poll, more than 62% of voters wanted the banning of these practices targeting both sexuality and gender identity. People recognise that conversion “therapy” is no such thing: this is about shaming and suppression. Sometimes families force it upon individuals. In other cases, they may seek it out under pressure, or because they have been made to feel that there is something “wrong” with them.
At the extreme, these practices may extend to verbal and physical abuse. More often, government research finds, they mean attempting to “pray the gay away”, or talking therapies. Either way, they seek to extinguish a person’s understanding of who they are, and increase stigma. The research notes growing evidence that such practices are statistically associated with poor mental health outcomes, including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. » | Editorial | Sunday, April 17, 2022
