by Joanna Timm, Conservative Home
One of the most repeated refrains in today’s politics is the promise that controversial policies will only ever be used against other people.
Hate speech laws will only affect extremists. Online censorship will only target harmful content. And conversion therapy bans? Well, they will only ever be used against abusive charlatans.
The Government’s draft Bill to ban so-called conversion practices arrives with familiar assurances. Supporters insist it is aimed solely at criminalising abuse against LGBTQ+ people.
We could all support this premise.
But assault, harassment and child cruelty are already criminal offences. Having spent years trying to come up with a workable Bill, the previous Government ultimately concluded that existing law already provides robust protections against abuse and abandoned its commitment altogether.
The real question has never been whether abuse should be illegal – it is what additional conduct the Government wants to criminalise.
This question becomes particularly important when examining Victoria, Australia’s Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 – frequently celebrated by campaigners as the model Britain should follow.
Victoria’s conversion therapy law does not merely prohibit abusive practices. It reaches deep into family life, pastoral ministry and personal conversations. Under Victoria’s ban, not only is it illegal not to affirm a person’s declared gender identity, but official state guidance on how to avoid prosecution under the law tells parents that a supportive response to a child questioning their gender identity involves asking what pronouns they would like them to use. At one point, the guidance said that parents discouraging their child from pursuing puberty blockers could be engaging in unlawful conversion therapy.
Guidance issued to ‘people of faith’ on complying with the law is no less oppressive. It goes so far as to discuss which forms of prayer could risk breaching the legislation – including prayers about sin and repentance.
Read also: The fuss over gay conversion therapy is a charade by Lara Brown, Spectator