from Christian Concern
Communications Manager Paul Huxley shows how a BBC News article fundamentally misleads the public on a matter of public interest.
Today, BBC News put out a long article detailing how many people were subjected to Electric Shock Aversion Therapy from 1965 to 1973.
It says the therapy, which took place in NHS hospitals, was intended to change their sexuality and gender identity, causing much harm. The article says that some of these people also did not give informed consent.
Aversive therapy is indeed unhelpful – but also irrelevant
Electric shock therapy is a form of aversion therapy which is intended to link a desire (like same-sex attraction) with pain, provided by the shock.
The article is perfectly justified in pointing out that these attempts at treatment were ineffective and harmful in the long run. Our FAQ about the subject has made clear for years that we reject aversive methods.
But the BBC article quickly jumps from these past mistakes to current plans to ban so-called ‘conversion therapy’.
Near the top of the article it says:
“The British Psychological Society has abandoned its use of ESAT but conversion practices in the UK are still not illegal.”
And lower down it directly pivots from forced electric shocks to the current calls for a ban:
In 2017, NHS England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists pledged to stop practising conversion therapy, including electric shock treatment.
“Yet conversion practices still remain legal in the UK and continue to take place in private homes, churches, and through some counsellors or therapists.
According to campaigner Saba Ali: “People are still tortured and hurt in the name of conversion therapy.”
The government has promised to draft a bill to end conversion practices by the end of this year, but it has not happened as yet.”
The problem is this: no one whatsoever in the UK is doing or supporting these practices. The stories the BBC tells are utterly irrelevant to the political issue at hand.