“The Government must act now and ban these abhorrent practices”
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE PROVIDED
Ban Conversion Practices Coalition hand-delivered an open letter to Number 10 yesterday (18 Dec) calling for the government to finally publish a draft Bill banning conversion practices for LGBTQIA+ communities.
Stonewall’s Simon Blake OBE, DIVA Charitable Trust board member and Chair of the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition Saba Ali, and Dr Glenn Miles took the letter to 10 Downing Street. The letter was signed by LGBTQIA+ icons like Layton Williams as well as LGBTQIA+ organisations such as UK Black Pride, Amnesty International UK and OneBodyOneFaith.
As defined by Ban Conversion Practices, conversion practices are: “are not health, natural and exploratory conversations; they are when an LGBTQ+ person is specifically being told they need curing or fixing. They include any medical, psychiatric, psychological, religious, cultural or any other interventions that seek to ‘change’, cure’, or suppress the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of a person.”
In the open letter, the coalition wrote: “Across the UK, too many in the LGBTQ+ community are still being told they need to be ‘cured’ or ‘fixed’ because harmful conversion practices remain legal. This is the eighth Christmas […] since successive Prime Ministers have personally committed to end these practices.”
“Our Christmas wish is this: make 2026 the year that harmful conversion practices are finally made illegal. […] Give the LGBTQ+ community the gift of safety and acceptance by delivering on your manifesto commitment to ban conversion practices.”
Last year, the UK government announced its intention to bring forward draft legislation to finally ban conversion practices. At least 7% of LGBTQIA+ people have been offered or undergone conversion practices in the UK.
Speaking about the urgent need for this legislation, Saba Ali said: “Every day without a ban is a day where harm is quietly permitted. We need a decisive, inclusive law that ends this abuse once and for all, a law that makes unmistakably clear that our identities were never errors, and our lives never needed correcting. The moment for action has long since passed; the Government must act now and ban these abhorrent practices.”
From Stonewall Chief Executive Simon Blake OBE, the message is simple: “Today we urge the Prime Minister yet again to give the LGBTQ+ community a gift of safety and acceptance by making next year the year when conversion practices are finally made illegal.”
Find out more here: banconversionpractices.com
Love media made by and for LGBTQIA+ women and gender diverse people? Then you’ll love DIVA. We’ve been spotlighting the community for over 30 years. Here’s how you can get behind queer media and keep us going for another generation: linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine
Did you know that DIVA has now become a charity? Our magazine is published by the DIVA Charitable Trust. You can find out more about the organisation and how you can offer your support here: divacharitabletrust.com
