Fury as UK govt set to break conversion therapy ban promise

mambaonline.com:

LGBTQ+ groups are furious over reports that the UK government is planning to only ban conversion therapy for cisgender gay, lesbian and bi people and exclude those who are transgender. The government has been promising since 2018 to pass legislation to outlaw the discredited and dangerous practice of trying to change an LGBTQ+ person’s sexuality or gender identity.

This was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020. Leaked plans now suggests that the government is set to follow advice from the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission to delay banning transgender conversion therapy because it claimed that there is not enough research and consensus on matters affecting transgender people.

LGBTQ+ and allied groups have responded with an almost unanimous and angry voice in condemning the move. More than 80 organisations have announced a boycott of the upcoming high profile Safe To Be Me global LGBTQ+ conference hosted by the UK Government.

Stonewall, the leading LGBTQ+ rights group in UK, accused the government of sacrificing trans people “for political gain” It confirmed its withdrawal of support for the Safe To Be Me conference and will only participate “if the Prime Minister reverts to his promise for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.” “That the Prime Minister would so casually walk away from four years of promises to the LGBTQ+ community is appalling, and we cannot in good conscience back Safe To Be Me at a time when our community’s trust in the UK Government is shattered,” said the organisation.