Conversion Therapy Debate – My Thoughts

MP’s had a debate in Westminster Hall on Monday the 13th June 2022. Here are some of my thoughts.

There is a population of 200-500k Trans people in the UK (Official UK Government Figures). 145k people signed the petition.

So take the lower estimate, then take a third of the people who signed the petition, that’s 50% of the population signed the petition, more than the turn out of the last local elections.

Facts that came out from MP’s debate in Westminster all.

All Major medical bodies support full ban.
370 Religion Leaders world wide have come out for a full ban.
Church of England and Church of Scotland and some Muslim organisations have come out for a full ban.
In 2020, the UN called for a full ban.
The existence of trans people is not up for debate.
The Exclusion of trans people in the ban can be a trap for LGB people.
Existing law does not over it.
Current LGBT rights would not exist without the T as a founding member of the movement was a Transgender person.
1/2 of trans people who have been through the therapy have committed suicide.
This is not about open ended medical treatment but about quacks with a goal of changing someone’s gender identity. (Good example of a medical treatment method can be found in the book “Becoming Nicole” which is based on a true story)
3/4 of trans people who have undergone the therapy was under 24, some as young as 12
No negative impact on countries that have implemented a full ban. (France, NZ, Canada to name a few)
Ban only covers under 18’s

I know of 2 trans people who have been through it, 1 has committed suicide and the other still has nightmares 30 years after going through it. In both instances it didn’t change anything about their identity.

Conclusion

Overall I found the debate mostly positive. Almost all the MP’s was in support of a full ban, though proper medical treatment was still on the table. I think that is a positive thing as if it is open ended like in the book “Becoming Nicole”, where there is no pressure to go either way than that can only be a positive thing.

Quacks and religious reasons should be banned all together, and there seems to be a broad cross party support for that. I only hope the ministers look at this debate when drafting the bill and take the points to hand.

All we can do now is keep up the pressure and wait for the government to draft the bill, which according to the minister responsible for it should be some time this Autumn.

Kira Herdman