Thank you for contacting me about conversion therapy.
As a general point, I have always been clear that sex is a biological fact; it is binary and that it is not possible to be born in the wrong body. I am also clear that the right of girls - female children - and women - adult human females - to single sex spaces must be protected. Their rights to safety, privacy and dignity are paramount.
No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at coercive conversion therapy are abhorrent. I welcome that the Government are carefully considering this very complex issue and I have been informed that further details will be set out in due course.
You might be interested in my article responding to the Sex Matters campaign for a ban on what they term 'modern conversion therapy' here.
My colleagues and I will scrutinise any proposed legislation that is brought forward carefully as this is a complex area and legislation to ban transgender conversion therapy must not harm the growing number of children and young adults experiencing gender-related distress through inadvertently criminalising or chilling legitimate conversations parents or clinicians may have with their children. This is a particular concern given the overwhelming evidence that children and young people who present as gender dysphoric in fact have other problems which need addressing or may simply be coming to terms with being gay often in environments in which being gay is not acceptable. Furthermore, I note the comments of the Royal College of General Practitioners: ‘Wondering’ about identity and experimenting with roles is a normal part of growing up and most children desist from seeing themselves as trans with the passage of time and development’.
I will look carefully at proposals for strengthening existing criminal law by ensuring that violent conversion therapy is recognised as a potential aggravating factor upon sentencing, as well as making sure those found guilty of conversion therapy offences have any profit obtained from those crimes removed. Of course, the actions involved in such practices are already illegal under a range of laws.
Further, any legislation must protect freedom of speech, ensuring parents, clinicians and teachers can continue to have conversations with people seeking support and must not impact the existing professional frameworks that guide clinicians' ability to support people. As such, robust, exploratory and challenging conversations which are part of regulated care should not fall within the scope of such legislation. Of course, there should be protection for under-18s and over-18s who do not consent and are forced or coerced to undergo conversion therapy practices. I note that Ministers have insisted that the Government has no intention to stop parents, clinicians, teachers, or anyone else from having open and explorative conversations with young people or others about their sexual orientation or whether they are transgender or not.
I understand that there have been concerns amongst religious leaders, who have warned that previous proposals for laws on conversion therapy could prevent them from teaching traditional Christian values. I remain concerned that any proposals to ban conversion therapy should not impact everyday religious practice, and that there should be no doubt that individuals will still be able to access support and counsel from religious leaders.
It is vital that adults' freedom of choice to make decisions about their own lives is protected, as long as they have capacity, and that freedoms of thought, expression and association are upheld. The defence of liberty is not a loophole.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.
Craig Whittaker MP
December 2023