LGBTQ+ groups have asked the U.K. government to reconsider its latest transphobic policy decision<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.K. government announced plans to ban conversion therapy for sexual orientation but not gender identity in a move that has spawned major backlash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On March 31, Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2019s government signalled that it would move forward with a conversion therapy ban after initially waffling on the issue. Just hours earlier, his administration indicated that it would backtrack on a 2018 promise<\/a> from former prime minister Teresa May to outlaw the harmful, discredited practice, which is already illegal in approximately a dozen countries<\/a>, including Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Government officials framed the transphobic exclusion as a compromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen it comes to conversion therapy, it is absolutely right that we ban the so-called conversion therapy for LGB people,\u201d Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News<\/em><\/a> on April 6. \u201cWhen it comes to trans, I do think that we need to be more careful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversion therapy, also known as \u201creparative\u201d therapy, is based on the false premise that being LGBTQ2S+ is wrong and that an individual\u2019s sexual orientation can be changed through medical or faith-based intervention. The practice, which includes everything from talk therapy to shock treatment, has been condemned by leading groups like the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnson referred to conversion therapy as \u201cutterly abhorrent\u201d in comments to Britain\u2019s Channel 4 <\/em>news but claimed there are \u201ccomplexities and sensitivities\u201d when it comes to regulating treatments on trans youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s reasonable for kids to [make] decisions about their gender or irreversible treatments that they may have. I think there should be parental involvement at the very least, first thing,\u201d the Conservative leader said, before abruptly switching topics to take aim at trans athletes. \u201cSecond thing, I don\u2019t think biological males should be competing in female sporting events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe that\u2019s a controversial thing to say,\u201d he added, \u201cbut it just seems to me to be sensible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n