Thank you for contacting me about so called 'conversion therapy'.
I take this issue very seriously and I know that my colleagues in the Equalities Office remain committed to tackling conversion therapy in the UK. I am absolutely clear that this practice has no place in civilised society. Being lesbian, gay or bisexual is not an illness to be treated or cured.
I am encouraged that this view is shared by the head of the NHS, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the British Medical Association. Each of these bodies have concluded that such therapy is unethical and potentially harmful.
The Government Equalities’ Office commissioned a large-scale LGBT survey in 2017. Sadly, two per cent of respondents to the national LGBT survey said they had undergone conversion therapy in an attempt to ‘cure’ them of being LGBT. Unfortunately, in this survey, what conversion therapy entailed was not defined, nor were the respondents asked whether or not the conversion therapy referred to in their answer was offered in the UK.
I am aware that the Government is proceeding with its legislative proposals to ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, and bi-sexual individuals. Alongside this, I have been assured that the Government is carrying out separate work on the issue of transgender conversion therapy. This is to ensure that any legislative measures brought forward will not have any unintended consequences. It is not the Government's view that it is fine to subject trans people to abuse, however this is a legally complex area, and as such the Government have a responsibility that any of these unintended consequences are not written into legislation, particularly in the case of under eighteens.
I have been assured that the results will be analysed and will inform the Government's next steps in preparing legislation shortly.
However I will ensure that your concerns are made clear to my ministerial colleagues, and do all I can to see that LGBT rights are protected in legislation.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.