THE ANTI CONVERSION THERAPY COALITION By Christine O’Mahony PRO - Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition
What other countries have brought in a ban?
The issue of conversion therapy has resulted in DUP leader, Arlene Foster, having no choice but to resign as she decided to abstain on the motion rather than reject it like the rest of her colleagues. This was very unexpected. She was replaced by Edwin Poots, who opposes gay men donating blood and once said, “and so someone who has sex with somebody in Africa or sex with prostitutes, I am very reluctant about those people being able to give blood.” In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been under pressure to ban the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has given Johnson an ultimatum, “ban the practice, or I will!” It is clear that Scotland and Northern Ireland could be the first two regions that are part of the UK that could ban the practice. How Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition came about? Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition formed after a controversial tweet was posted which claimed that “supporting conversion therapy for minors, is not homophobic”. It reminded everyone that conversion therapy was still legal in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Conversion therapy on the island is mainly done in private and in religious settings, such as ‘Core Issue Trust’, which reject the idea that sexual orientation is innate and immutable. Aaron Grant, who is the chairperson of ACTC, launched the campaign on the 13th of April, which comprises of youths from various political parties and none, who decided to organise together by forming a group chat with over 211 members. The plan is to organise a movement to pressure the Irish government to pass Fintan Warfield’s bill on banning conversion therapy. The group have also pressured MLAs in the NI Assembly to support the UUP motion on banning conversion therapy and are happy with the results.
Currently, only Brazil, Ecuador, Malta and Germany have banned conversion therapy. Regional laws have also been introduced in the US, Spain, Canada, and Australia. In Northern Ireland, a motion put forward by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to ban the practice of conversion therapy in Northern Ireland passed 59-24. However, the motion was legally non-binding. Legislation to completely ban the practice in all its forms will hopefully be introduced before the next assembly elections. What are the Government promises on Conversion Therapy? Banning Conversion Therapy is included in the Programme for Government (PFG). Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, who himself is part of the LGBTQI+ community, claimed “a person’s sexual orientation is not up for debate” and has tasked officials with exploring ways to outlaw the practice in the Republic. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael elected reps have also strongly supported the initiative put forward by the Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition (ACTC), which aims to ban conversion therapy on the island of Ireland using Sinn Féin’s Senator Fintan Warfield’s 2018 bill, called ‘Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill’, which would prohibit conversion therapy as “a deceptive and harmful act or practice against a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and, or gender expression.” In Northern Ireland, Communities Minister, Deirdre Hargey, said at the assembly debate on conversion therapy that “conversion therapy should be ended now”. She promised that she would be exploring all legislative practices to ban the practice and warned that she “needs to make sure we get the policy right, with no loopholes”. Lastly, she stated that “homophobia is in our society, and we need to challenge it.” What’s the situation in Northern Ireland /United Kingdom? In Northern Ireland, the only real opposition came from the DUP, TUV and some faith leaders. TUV’s Jim Allister was shocked that the bill proposed by the UUP said that they want to ban conversion therapy in “all its forms.” He claimed that groups like Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition and Ban Conversion Therapy NI want to “criminalise preaching and praying”, which is not the case. Ex-DUP MLA Jim Wells claimed that if he became gay one day, he would want to seek spiritual guidance, and LGBTQI+ groups want to ban that. He later clarified that he was not gay! It is clear that these groups don’t have an understanding of what conversion therapy is about. Many LGBTQI+ people are themselves religious. It is not religion we want to ban. It is when religion seeks to harm people; you cannot “pray the gay away.” Despite this, the DUP amendment failed to pass, and the UUP motion passed.
What is conversion therapy? Conversion therapy refers to any form of treatment proposed to change a person’s sexual orientation or to suppress a person’s gender identity. It targets LGBTQI+ individuals and seeks to change their sexuality or gender identity. This unethical practice is usually carried out via psychological, physical or spiritual/religious methods. Other methods include drugs, hormones, exorcism, x-ray treatments, anaphrodisiacs, hydrotherapy, hypnosis, ‘fantasy satiation’, or electric shock treatment.
Why conversion therapy should be banned? Firstly, homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases in 1990. It has also been long removed from the list of mental illnesses in the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.’ Psychologists such as Glenn Wilson and Qazi Rahmen affirmed that “modern scientific research indicated that sexual orientation is largely determined by the time of birth, partly by genetics, but more specifically by hormonal activity in the womb arising from various sources.” This disputes the theory that you can “choose” to be LGBTQI+. LGBTQI+ people do not need to be “fixed” or “cured”, it is perfectly natural to be LGBTQI+. It is also wrong to call it “conversion therapy” as therapy is designed to treat physical or mental illnesses, and it has been scientifically established that homosexuality is not a disease. So-called “conversion therapy” constitutes a form of torture. A top UN expert, Mr Victor Madrigal-Borloz stated, “the process of conversion therapy is cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and in some cases, they constitute torture.” He also urged global governments to ban the “degrading practice known as conversion therapy.” His research revealed that in a survey of more than 8000 people from 100 countries, it was found that 98% of those who had undergone conversion therapy reported suffering some damage. There are many negative side effects attached to conversion therapy such as anger, anxiety, confusion, depression, grief, guilt, hopelessness, deteriorated relationships with family, loss of social support, loss of faith, poor self-image, social isolation, intimacy difficulties, suicidal ideation, self-hatred and sexual dysfunction. Conversion therapy does not work, you cannot change somebody. It does more harm than good. It must be noted that LGBTQI+ minors are more at risk of being forced into conversion therapy by their parents or guardians. This actually goes against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Under Article 12, it states that children have ‘a right to be heard’, forcing children into these “therapies” against their will, is not in line with Article 12.
How can people get involved in the campaign or support the campaign?
Anyone aged 18 or over can get involved in our campaign. If they contact the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page, we can invite them to the group chat, where ideas are discussed, and tasks are handed out. We have already done one email campaign to MLAs in the NI Assembly and plan to tackle Leinster House next. Those who want to support the campaign can retweet/share our posts, contact their local TDs/MLAs, sign and share our petition and raise awareness on how bad the practice is.
This is why the practice of conversion therapy should be banned globally.
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