LGBTQ+ people have nothing to be ashamed of and there is nothing wrong or broken about who they are.
Yet conversion practices are still legal in the UK today.
Who are we?
We are a coalition of organisations united in calling for the Government to Ban Conversion Practices. It has been more than seven years since the LGBTQ+ community and allies were promised legislation to ban these harmful practices. We are continuing to campaign for a ban that protects all LGBTQ+ people from abuse, with no loopholes or exemptions.
In July 2024, the UK Government announced its intention to bring forward draft legislation to finally ban conversion practices. More recently, following her new appointment, Minister for Equalities, Olivia Bailey MP, confirmed that she is committed to delivering a fully inclusive ban on conversion practices.
About conversion practices
‘Conversion Practices are treatments, practices or services that seek to change or suppress a person’s
sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, based on the assumption that any sexual
orientation, gender identity or gender expression is inherently preferable to any other. (1)
Figures from the UK Government’s National LGBT Survey found that:
7% of LGBT people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy.
10% of asexual people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy.
13% of trans people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy.
The Trevor Project (2024) found that nearly 1 in 6 LGBTQ+ young people in the UK reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion practices.
It’s time for conversion practices to be banned.
Conversion practices violate fundamental human rights, perpetuate discrimination, and cause significant long-term harm to people and communities. LGBTQ+ people deserve be safe and be protected from this abuse.
We must secure a legislative ban which makes conversion practices illegal:
Wherever it occurs – in public or private, through healthcare or religious and cultural interventions.
Whoever is targeted – whether a child or an adult, whether they are coerced or have been pressured into “consenting”.
From the moment it’s spotted – through advertising on and offline.
This definition draws on definitions of conversion practices adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, Practices of So Called ‘Conversion Therapy’ A/HRC/44/53 (1 May 2020); the Memorandum of Understanding Against Conversion Therapy in the UK (February 2026); and legislative definitions adopted in a number of jurisdictions, including Canada, France and New Zealand. It has also been informed by academic work on the subject, including I. Trispiotis and S. Goosey, ‘Criminalising “Conversion Therapy”’ (2026) 89(1) Modern Law Review 28; and I. Trispiotis and C. Purshouse,‘“Conversion Therapy” as Degrading Treatment’ (2022) 42(1) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 104.
