22/01/2023
GScene Magazine, the LGBTQIA mag based in Brighton, reports some good news coming from Westminster. The government has confirmed that a comprehensive ban on anti-gay and anti-trans “conversion therapies” is planned. Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said in a written statement that the Bill “will protect everyone, including those targeted on the basis of their sexuality, or being transgender”. Anti-gay and anti-trans conversion groups are marginal in the United Kingdom compared with parts of the US, where they are a part of the far right movement of religious fundamentalism. However, it is believed that this type of pseudo-therapy is operated under the cover of several fundamentalist churches in the UK. In 2017, the Liverpool Echo’s Josh Parry went undercover to find a fundamentalist church that tried to get him to engage in a cruel regime of prayer and fasting to turn him into a heterosexual. At the time Parry noted ““Studies show that those who undergo ‘conversion’ are 8.9 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and 5.9 times more likely to suffer depression. They are dangerous and do not work so we’re calling upon the government to make offering these ‘therapies’ a criminal offence and call an end to these harmful practices once and for all.” If you are currently experiencing abuse aimed at changing, altering, or ‘curing’ your LGBT+ identity, or think this will happen to you if you come out, Galop’s Conversion Therapy Helpline is here for you. So-called conversion therapy can have a long-term impact on LGBT+ people. If this has happened to you in the past and you are still struggling with it, you can reach out to Galop’s support services. The helpline can provide a safe, confidential listening and information service to any LGBT+ person aged 13+. Phone 0800 1303335 or visit https://galop.org.uk/.
