Gallop Report on 'Conversion Therapy" 2023

Yesterday I got the report that MP’s got from Galop on so called “conversion therapy”. I am going to break this post down into 2 parts. The first one is the key findings of the report, the second one is some harrowing stories that are included in the report.

I would warn you that the second part can be upsetting, I cried when I wrote some of it and had to stop at 20. There are many more in the report.

I would like to thank my MP for giving me this report, you can also view the report at https://galop.org.uk/resource/there-was-nothing-to-fix-lgbt-survivors-experiences-of-conversion-practices/

Key Findings

• Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) LGBT+ people in the UK have been subjected to someone trying to change, ‘sure’ or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Trans (43%) and non-binary people (36%) are significantly more likely to be subjected to conversion practices
• LGBT+ conversion practice survivors reside in all areas of the UK, with the highest proportion of survivors found in Wales (25%)
• LGBT+ people of colour and white LGBT+ people are equally likely to have been subjected to conversion practices (18%)
• More than 1 in 5 (22%) LGBT+ people from religious and faith backgrounds and around 1 in 6 (17%) non-religious LGBT+ people have experienced conversion practices
• The majority of LGBT+ conversion practice survivors reported that they were subjected to these attempts of conversion or “cure” by a family member (56%)

These figures are sombre reading, especially the last 2.

Stories from Conversion Therapy Survivors

1. Doctors and therapists insisting that my asexuality was a medical condition that could be fixed.
2. I have been seeing a counsellor for a couple of years … over the course of our sessions the counsellor didn’t help much, tried to convince me I was straight.
3. Parent took me to a psychologist to “fix” my sexual orientation
4. When I came out as being attracted to women I was repeatedly told that it wouldn’t be accepted under my parents’ roof and I just needed to find my faith to fix the problem. I was pressured into therapy to cure me and was controlled and followed to make sure I wasn’t being deviant.
5. My parents’ homophobia and homophobic verbal abuse forcibly re-closeted me after I attempted to come out as a teenager.
6. I was told it was wrong, an abomination, against God’s word, would ruin my life, humiliate my family … it would make me ugly, that I needed to do the ‘right’ thing, mustn’t talk about this to anyone ever again, must behave, [and] I was a disappointment.
7. I was actively told by a friend of mine at the time that I wasn’t really trans and that I was doing it for the attention and that they’ll never see me as trans and will actively go against it and tell people I’m lying.
8. Family member limited internet access so I wasn’t able to see anything relating to my sexuality.
9. I was encouraged to subscribe to a ‘porn addiction’ online service called Fortify and met regularly with an accountability partner to see whether I was viewing pornography or masturbating. My accountability partner was five years my senior and frequently aired homophobic views.
10. Family Threat to disown me – and one occasion when I was living at home, I was told to leave immediately and not return.
11. I was told that I couldn’t be gay whilst living under my fathers roof, and was thrown out of home the week I turned 16.
12. My mother tried to exorcise me and recommended I go to conversion therapy after coming out with my first girlfriend at 16.
13. My mother tried to to make me date men when I was dating a woman, expose me to images of male genitalia and heterosexual sex acts and pornography in an attempt to ‘fix me’, and threatened to poison my food on a regular basis when I refused to break up with my girlfriend.
14. Punishments; attempts at exorcism, physical restraint; being kept alone in a locked room for two days and nights; prevented from socialising with others in the group; being expelled from an organisation.
15. Actual rage, attempted rape, serious sexual assault, name calling, frigid, beaten up … Police said by the time they could get to my village they’d be to late and it would be over. So why would I ask for help again?
16. Regular beatings by father and other children from a very early stage, extended to beatings from my brother and continuing through university. I have multiple old breaks in rids, nose, cheekbone etc. Several hospital stays. Two suicide attempts.
17. I told my parents that I wasn’t AGAB (assigned gender at birth) when I was a child and they told me I was wrong and stupid. When I expressed attraction to women they started forcing me to wear dresses and set me up on dates with teen boys they knew. It was crushing and I became an alcoholic when I was 17.
18. Being beaten by parents as a young teenager.
19. Being sent to a therapist to try and make me not be trans. It scarred me and destroyed the relationship with my parents.
20. Brought up in a Christian household, I was reminded often by a parent that being gay meant I would go to Hell. Only a few years ago I casually asked if I would consider conversion therapy (I am in my forties).

These are just 20 of the many stories in the report. It just utters belief that this can still happen in the 21st century in the UK. No's 13, 15 and 16 had my crying while I typed this out.

This has to STOP NOW.