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UK Conservative Government announced plans to ban conversion therapy.

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Government progresses ban on LGBT Conversion Therapy

Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, today (29 October) vowed to protect LGBT people, and especially under 18s, from harmful conversion therapies as she set out proposals to ban the practice.

  • Government launches consultation on how to make coercive conversion therapies illegal
  • Proposed new laws will protect LGBT people, and especially under 18s, ensuring individuals cannot promote or profit from this harmful practice
  • Government to fund support for victims of conversion therapy, including helpline

 

In May this year, Truss announced her intention to introduce a legislative ban on the practice of conversion therapy, which seeks to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The 6-week government consultation on how to legislate for such a ban, launched today, is the next step in that process. Throughout the summer further engagement was carried out with victims of conversion therapy, many of whom detailed the negative impacts on their mental health, and key stakeholders.

 

The government’s proposals to ban conversion therapy in England and Wales include:

  • Ensuring physical conversion therapy acts are sentenced appropriately and introducing a new offence for so-called talking conversion therapies
  • Ensuring those found guilty of conversion therapy offences have any profit they obtained from those crimes removed, and strengthening the case for individuals to be disqualified from holding a senior role in a charity where they are convicted of a conversion therapy offence
  • Introducing Conversion Therapy Protection Orders to protect potential victims from undergoing the practice, including abroad - this could include removing passports of potential victims, who are at risk of being taken overseas for conversion therapy
  • Exploring further measures to prevent the promotion of conversion therapy

The consultation will allow individuals to express their views on these proposals, presenting a vital opportunity for the public and key stakeholders to work with the government to develop an effective ban.

Once the consultation has closed, the responses will inform further refinements to the proposals. The government will prepare and introduce legislation by spring 2022.

 

Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, said: 

“There should be no place for the abhorrent practice of coercive conversion therapy in our society.

“Today we are publishing detailed proposals that will stop appalling conversion therapies and make sure LGBT people can live their lives free from the threat of harm or abuse.

“As we build back better from the pandemic, I want everyone to be able to love who they want and be themselves. Today’s announcement sets out how we will ban an archaic practice that has no place in modern life.”

Growing international evidence suggests that there is a strong link between conversion therapy and serious psychological harm. The government will make funding available to support victims of conversion therapy practices, making sure that those who need help can access it. In November, a competitive tendering process for a new government-funded support service for victims and those at risk of conversion therapy will be launched.

 

Minister for Equalities, Mike Freer, said:

“Everybody should be safe to be themselves at home, in the workplace and going about their daily lives. That is why we have set out these proposals to ban coercive conversion therapy and stop it impacting on the lives of people in this country.

“Input from victims and stakeholder groups will be vital and I urge everyone to have their say, making sure the ban puts an end to these practices, once and for all.”

Whilst violent forms of conversion therapy are already covered under other offences, the proposals that have been presented today would make all coercive conversion therapies illegal, making sure that where conversion therapy is the motive for violence, judges consider it as a potential aggravating factor when sentencing.

The government is also keen to safeguard under 18s, who are often targeted at a young age due to their vulnerability. Future laws will therefore place a particularly strong emphasis on preventing children undergoing any practices considered to be conversion therapies.

The proposals will also ensure that regulated clinicians are protected and are able to continue to undertake their valuable work. The ban will not seek to restrain these medical professionals and individuals should be free to seek out professional help and guidance, it will however target practices which people have not willingly agreed to undertake.

Alongside the proposed legislation for a specific ban, the Equality Hub will work across government to explore ways to prevent the promotion of conversion therapies in this country. This includes working with DCMS and others to consider vehicles to prevent online promotion.

 

Further Information:

  • The consultation can be found here
  • The government would like to hear from everyone with an opinion on how we should introduce the ban and urge those with an interest and particularly those with experience of conversion therapy to come forward.
  • The government committed to banning conversion therapy in the Queen’s Speech.
  • A Conversion Therapy Protection Order will set out certain conditions to protect a person from undergoing the practice, including removing a passport for those under risk of being taken abroad or any requirement that the court considers necessary to protect the person for whose protection the order is made.
  • The government will work closely with devolved administrations in order to protect people from conversion therapy across the UK
  • The consultation will run for six weeks, closing on 10 December.
  • Alongside the consultation a research report on the impact of conversion therapy, completed by Coventry University, will be published.
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5 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

Wait, didn't The Queen announce this plan a year ago? I thought it was already done by then rip4 

She did in May this year / 5 months ago, however the Queens Speech is just designed to set out what the plans/aims are for the next parliament.

 

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Just now, Ruby said:

Maybe the American Conservatives and other conservatives from many other countries can follow suit? It would be amazing to see.

I doubt it. The UK Conservative Party on the left/right spectrum is basically aligned with the US Democrats tbh, arguably further left when it comes to social issues. 

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20 minutes ago, Billie Frank said:

I doubt it. The UK Conservative Party on the left/right spectrum is basically aligned with the US Democrats tbh, arguably further left when it comes to social issues. 

On a political spectrum, Conservatives in the UK are the pure definiton of Center-Right. This is why they also agree with many aspects on the Left as well. However, Conservatives hold some values that US Democrats don't have for example : Protectionism, and a few other stuff that . We gotta remember that the UK Tories also changed completely after 2016. It surprises me how the Tories are the best at reinnovating themselves every five or ten years. Literally Pop Stars who? rip4 

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3 hours ago, Princess Aurora said:

On a political spectrum, Conservatives in the UK are the pure definiton of Center-Right. This is why they also agree with many aspects on the Left as well. However, Conservatives hold some values that US Democrats don't have for example : Protectionism, and a few other stuff that . We gotta remember that the UK Tories also changed completely after 2016. It surprises me how the Tories are the best at reinnovating themselves every five or ten years. Literally Pop Stars who? rip4 

I get what you're saying but it's not really as simple as that and it's a bit more complex, I don't really think they changed completely after 2016. The Euroscepticism was always there in the party, in the UK the Prime Minister/Party leaders don't actually have that much power, they're essentially just a spokesperson for their party. It's not like the US where the President can put through an executive order and get whatever they want. A perfect example of this is the very fact the Brexit vote happened as those at the top of the Party at the time were pro-EU, however they were aware that within the party there was a strong and growing Eurosceptic movement. I'm not saying i agree with it but essentially David Cameron went forward with the EU Referendum because it's what the majority of his party wanted, and also because his deluded ego made him think he would win. That being said Brexit has (unfortunately) now happened so there's not really any point arguing over if it should or shouldn't have happened. 

Arguably the bigger issue in the UK is the lack of a competent opposition, particularly now that Corbyn is gone and Keir Starmer his replacement is nothing more than a spineless wet wipe with no real core values who's only real guiding policy is to have no policies at all. What the UK as a whole needs is a powerful Centre-Left opposition with Socialist leaning values. I also think devolution of some powers to local authorities/governments would help massively. The reason Labour have failed is because the general public don't know what they stand for. That said it doesn't help that Mr Starmer has this weird obsession with attacking the left side of the party and constantly shutting them out. 

All countries are protectionist and often it is necessary, in the UK's case particularly when it comes to farming. UK beef for example is of a much higher standard than that of mass produced US/Australian beef as such it is more expensive and without protectionist measures and import taxes it could lead to people not buying UK produce, going for the much cheaper imported product and killing the agricultural industry. That being said i do find the UK and Europe's obsession with fishing bizarre give how little of the economy it actually makes up. 

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5 minutes ago, Billie Frank said:

I get what you're saying but it's not really as simple as that and it's a bit more complex, I don't really think they changed completely after 2016. The Euroscepticism was always there in the party, in the UK the Prime Minister/Party leaders don't actually have that much power, they're essentially just a spokesperson for their party. It's not like the US where the President can put through an executive order and get whatever they want. A perfect example of this is the very fact the Brexit vote happened as those at the top of the Party at the time were pro-EU, however they were aware that within the party there was a strong and growing Eurosceptic movement. I'm not saying i agree with it but essentially David Cameron went forward with the EU Referendum because it's what the majority of his party wanted, and also because his deluded ego made him think he would win. That being said Brexit has (unfortunately) now happened so there's not really any point arguing over if it should or shouldn't have happened. 

Arguably the bigger issue in the UK is the lack of a competent opposition, particularly now that Corbyn is gone and Keir Starmer his replacement is nothing more than a spineless wet wipe with no real core values who's only real guiding policy is to have no policies at all. What the UK as a whole needs is a powerful Centre-Left opposition with Socialist leaning values. I also think devolution of some powers to local authorities/governments would help massively. The reason Labour have failed is because the general public don't know what they stand for. That said it doesn't help that Mr Starmer has this weird obsession with attacking the left side of the party and constantly shutting them out. 

All countries are protectionist and often it is necessary, in the UK's case particularly when it comes to farming. UK beef for example is of a much higher standard than that of mass produced US/Australian beef as such it is more expensive and without protectionist measures it and import taxes it could lead to people not buying UK produce, going for the much cheaper imported product and killing the agricultural industry. That being said i do find the UK and Europe's obsession with fishing bizarre give how little of the economy it actually makes up. 

Oh okay. I thought the Prime Minister had more power just like the President or similar since the Monarchy does not have full power within the Parliament. In other words, I was trying to say Euroscepticism shaped the party in certain aspects seeing that the concept itself wasn't popular in 2005, for instance but it existed as you mentioned before. However, it depends on the stance. Some countries have a more open approach like New Zealand or the current US Administration, others instead are a bit more conservative like Australia. When it comes to a weak opposition, it is a bit alarming since it should be balanced in a Democratic system. However, this is temporary which is not much of a problem in the long-term. The only concern is when there is a small majority trying to dominate every fringe of the Government. It looks like the UK isn't in this position unlike the US where a small majority of Republicans slowly cannibalized the party (this started way before Trump, he was the side effect of it). That is a clear sign of a Democracy in Danger in the US. However, when it comes to trade. It is their business, not mine, those are their problems lol2 

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2 hours ago, Billie Frank said:

I get what you're saying but it's not really as simple as that and it's a bit more complex, I don't really think they changed completely after 2016. The Euroscepticism was always there in the party, in the UK the Prime Minister/Party leaders don't actually have that much power, they're essentially just a spokesperson for their party. It's not like the US where the President can put through an executive order and get whatever they want. A perfect example of this is the very fact the Brexit vote happened as those at the top of the Party at the time were pro-EU, however they were aware that within the party there was a strong and growing Eurosceptic movement. I'm not saying i agree with it but essentially David Cameron went forward with the EU Referendum because it's what the majority of his party wanted, and also because his deluded ego made him think he would win. That being said Brexit has (unfortunately) now happened so there's not really any point arguing over if it should or shouldn't have happened. 

Arguably the bigger issue in the UK is the lack of a competent opposition, particularly now that Corbyn is gone and Keir Starmer his replacement is nothing more than a spineless wet wipe with no real core values who's only real guiding policy is to have no policies at all. What the UK as a whole needs is a powerful Centre-Left opposition with Socialist leaning values. I also think devolution of some powers to local authorities/governments would help massively. The reason Labour have failed is because the general public don't know what they stand for. That said it doesn't help that Mr Starmer has this weird obsession with attacking the left side of the party and constantly shutting them out. 

All countries are protectionist and often it is necessary, in the UK's case particularly when it comes to farming. UK beef for example is of a much higher standard than that of mass produced US/Australian beef as such it is more expensive and without protectionist measures it and import taxes it could lead to people not buying UK produce, going for the much cheaper imported product and killing the agricultural industry. That being said i do find the UK and Europe's obsession with fishing bizarre give how little of the economy it actually makes up. 

Cleared clap3 

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3 hours ago, Ruby said:

Maybe the American Conservatives and other conservatives from many other countries can follow suit? It would be amazing to see.

 

British Conservatives / Most European conservative parties are very different to the GOP. The UK Conservative party is basically the equivalent of the Democrats when it comes to social issues. 

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2 hours ago, Princess Aurora said:

Oh okay. I thought the Prime Minister had more power just like the President or similar since the Monarchy does not have full power within the Parliament. In other words, I was trying to say Euroscepticism shaped the party in certain aspects seeing that the concept itself wasn't popular in 2005, for instance but it existed as you mentioned before. However, it depends on the stance. Some countries have a more open approach like New Zealand or the current US Administration, others instead are a bit more conservative like Australia. When it comes to a weak opposition, it is a bit alarming since it should be balanced in a Democratic system. However, this is temporary which is not much of a problem in the long-term. The only concern is when there is a small majority trying to dominate every fringe of the Government. It looks like the UK isn't in this position unlike the US where a small majority of Republicans slowly cannibalized the party (this started way before Trump, he was the side effect of it). That is a clear sign of a Democracy in Danger in the US. However, when it comes to trade. It is their business, not mine, those are their problems lol2 

Euroscepticism shaped the party because it also shaped parts of the country. Lets not forget a good bulk of the constituencies that voted to leave the EU were Labour areas, Euroscepticism has been prevalent in both parties since at least the 90s.  David Cameron could've held off the referendum, but the reality of the matter is it would've happened sooner or later regardless as it was a pot full of water waiting to inevitably boil over. The remain campaign was a massive failure and lacked emotion partially because they were complicit with the fact they'd win when they didn't but that's a topic for another day.

New Zealand is a small island with a population barely over 5 million so i don't think it's really comparable. Not to mention it has a more open approach because it relies on imports for nearly all of it's consumer goods. In most civilised democratic countries the reason they become protectionist is to protect their own economy from suffering, it's somewhat in the name. Yes the UK has become more protectionist in recent years but that's to be expected when you leave any political union. 

Weak opposition is never a good thing, however as you note it will be a temporary thing, i doubt Keir will make it past the next election. Under Jeremy Corbyn Labour did propose many policies that were popular, however people felt they couldn't trust Corbyn and that his front bench were incompetent, their lack of stance on Brexit didn't help either, that's why the Lib Dems saw gains at the 2019 EU Elections before Jo Swinson came in and tanked the party harder than Fergie's National Anthem.

I think the difference between the leading UK and US parties comes down to extremism. The major parties in the UK are all near the centre so there's balance, whereas in the US you have a centre-left party that isn't really centre-left and a right wing party full of boomers and inbreds. Even if i don't agree with them politically i think many UK politicians are more rational than their US counterparts, many US politicians do nothing but represent themselves/their own egos.

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7 minutes ago, Billie Frank said:

Euroscepticism shaped the party because it also shaped parts of the country. Lets not forget a good bulk of the constituencies that voted to leave the EU were Labour areas, Euroscepticism has been prevalent in both parties since at least the 90s.  David Cameron could've held off the referendum, but the reality of the matter is it would've happened sooner or later regardless as it was a pot full of water waiting to inevitably boil over. The remain campaign was a massive failure and lacked emotion partially because they were complicit with the fact they'd win when they didn't but that's a topic for another day.

New Zealand is a small island with a population barely over 5 million so i don't think it's really comparable. Not to mention it has a more open approach because it relies on imports for nearly all of it's consumer goods. In most civilised democratic countries the reason they become protectionist is to protect their own economy from suffering, it's somewhat in the name. Yes the UK has become more protectionist in recent years but that's to be expected when you leave any political union. 

Weak opposition is never a good thing, however as you note it will be a temporary thing, i doubt Keir will make it past the next election. Under Jeremy Corbyn Labour did propose many policies that were popular, however people felt they couldn't trust Corbyn and that his front bench were incompetent, their lack of stance on Brexit didn't help either, that's why the Lib Dems saw gains at the 2019 EU Elections before Jo Swinson came in and tanked the party harder than Fergie's National Anthem.

I think the difference between the leading UK and US parties comes down to extremism. The major parties in the UK are all near the centre so there's balance, whereas in the US you have a centre-left party that isn't really centre-left and a right wing party full of boomers and inbreds. Even if i don't agree with them politically i think many UK politicians are more rational than their US counterparts, many US politicians do nothing but represent themselves/their own egos.

That makes sense then. So Euroscepticism does not have anything to do with Politics but it is more of a Cultural/Idelogical thing? Even though that the UK is not as Eurosceptic as they make it out to be but it is more complicated to explain, there are other countries inside the Union that are far worse than the UK rip4 . From what you are saying, in particular English Politics, is somehow mirroring Australia. I am sure that in the long-term it will be balacened again. In the end, I never implied that UK politics is the same as the US one. They are not of course. The only thing I think is that the UK's democratic state compared to the US is not as damaged as it is in the US, the American one is far worse while the whole UK is in a better situation. Unfortunately these last five years literally turned the US into a flawed democracy unlike the UK which was pretty consistent to some extent luckily. I am not sure about these two last years but I noticed a difference between how Black Lives Matter was welcomed in both countries : in the US the former President literally threatened to shoot on the people while this did not happen in most European countries especially in the UK at all. Another important point, The Governments across Europe are not encouraging anti-vaxxers or creating a ''Critical Race Theory'' panic like the Republicans are doing instead. I am not excusing or defending Conversatism in Europe but you get the point

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13 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

That makes sense then. So Euroscepticism does not have anything to do with Politics but it is more of a Cultural/Idelogical thing? Even though that the UK is not as Eurosceptic as they make it out to be but it is more complicated to explain, there are other countries inside the Union that are far worse than the UK rip4 .

Yes, Euroscepticism at least from the UK perspective is generally not a left/right thing, there's endless factors that played a part depending on region. Perhaps a good example of this is the fact both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to stay within the EU, despite the fact Scotland is far more leftist/liberal whereas Northern Ireland is more conservative. 

24 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

In the end, I never implied that UK politics is the same as the US one. They are not of course. The only thing I think is that the UK's democratic state compared to the US is not as damaged as it is in the US, the American one is far worse while the whole UK is in a better situation. Unfortunately these last five years literally turned the US into a flawed democracy unlike the UK which was pretty consistent to some extent luckily. 

I agree. Even though the media does like to scaremonger (they always do) the UK politically has remained very stable, yes there has been hiccups but they've been short term things. There also isn't that same loyalty to follow your party on every issue in the UK. Yes parties have ways to try and convince MPs to vote a certain way but ultimately they can and very often do vote against their own party or criticize their own party, again i think this stems from the fact that politically on the left/right spectrum the parties are not that far apart. One example alone of this would be the fact former PM Theresa May has been constantly criticizing the government / her own party during Prime Ministers Questions. 

37 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

I am not sure about these two last years but I noticed a difference between how Black Lives Matter was welcomed in both countries : in the US the former President literally threatened to shoot on the people while this did not happen in most European countries especially in the UK at all. 

This is also true however i think it's also reflective of general attitudes. Yes there are people in the UK that are less favourable towards the BLM movement, but as a whole they're not as politically motivated against it when compared to many on the right in the US who see it as a threat. It's kind of hard to explain but most people in the UK who are less favourable to BLM movement have more of an issue with the disruption that was caused by the protest rather than the actual merit of the protest itself, i'm not sure if i've explained it best but i hope you somewhat get what i mean.

Also if any UK politician threatened to shoot any civilian like Trump was doing they'd be forced to resign instantly and likely by their own party. That aside there is also the simple fact that people in the UK don't have guns.

46 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

Another important point, The Governments across Europe are not encouraging anti-vaxxers or creating a ''Critical Race Theory'' panic like the Republicans are doing instead. I am not excusing or defending Conversatism in Europe but you get the point

Yes i do. To be honest in the UK from a political perspective the so called Anti-vax movement isn't an issue because there's an overall consensus that everyone should be getting vaccinated. And any MP who does express strong Anti-Vax opinions would likely risk having the Whip withdrawn essentially meaning they're kicked out of the party, obviously that doesn't mean they can't question the effectiveness of certain vaccines etc, but being outright Anti-Vax wouldn't be tolerated. Both Labour and the Conservatives like to be seen as logical/centre parties, so generally peaking extremist views like those are just not tolerated because it gives the party a bad image.

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7 minutes ago, Billie Frank said:

Yes, Euroscepticism at least from the UK perspective is generally not a left/right thing, there's endless factors that played a part depending on region. Perhaps a good example of this is the fact both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to stay within the EU, despite the fact Scotland is far more leftist/liberal whereas Northern Ireland is more conservative. 

That makes sense. We are living in a Post-Colonial World so the Old Empires like England, France, and Russia are suffering from the ''Dead Empire Crisis'' therefore, it is normal that some views tend to be a bit more nationalistic around the Population in these countries, in England's case it is a mixture of different factors, from this crisis to what previous Governments did in the previous decades like Blairism and Thatcherism. It is interesting to notice that Spain and Portugal transitioned very well after their Empires passed away. I am wondering how they did it. ellie1 Then, I think that it depends on the Media outlet and the company behind it in my opinion. It is also important that Republicans are very aggressive If you don't fully agree with them see how they tried to kill Mike Pence, humiliated Mitt Romney , and John McCain after his death just because they all disagreed with Trumpism and the way the GOP was transforming. I mean, someone like Marjorie Greene would never step in Westminster. 

When it comes to BLM, it is true that some people dislike it or do not understand the meaning behind it but there is obviously a majority, I remeber that a BLM Activist was almost murdered in the UK but Justice was served, in the US he would probably get away with it, I mean, If they didn't protest, George Floy'd murder would be free by now. We also have to pay attention that Segretation ended recently compared to other European countries where instead it happened outside Europe except in the 30s but that was with the Jewish community instead brit1. That is another good thing as well, when it comes to threats or spreading misinformation. They are punished in most European countries unlike the US where it is encouraged and I find it really scary. This growing ideology especially in the GOP reminds me a lot of Mussolini. It is very similar and I hope that during these last few years of Joe Biden's presidency, they will try to fix this as soon as possible because it'll get worse.

 

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