Making gay cures a criminal offence is not the forward – apparently
The British Government has affirmed its position on “gay cures” or conversion therapy. It condemns it, but won’t make the practice of it illegal.
In responding to a petition, created earlier in 2017, which attracted 11,000 signatories, the Government said that although it condemned the practice of conversion therapy, it did not believe that making the treatment illegal was the “right way forward”.
The therapy, which has no evidentiary proof of benefit, has been widely criticised by the professional health industry and is seen as incredibly damaging to the LGBT+ community. The therapy is banned on the NHS.
This is not the first time the Government has refused to make substantive steps towards the banning of so-called “gay cures”, in 2015 it declined to ban them.
In its latest response, responding to the petition, the Department of Health said,
“There is no evidence that this sort of treatment is beneficial, and indeed it may well cause significant harm to some patients. It is incumbent on professionals working in the National Health Service to ensure that treatment and care, including therapy, is provided to every patient without any form of discrimination.
“This Government is committed to tackling discrimination towards LGBT people. That is why we have already worked with the main registration and accreditation bodies for psychotherapy and counselling practitioners, including the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), to develop first a consensus statement and then a Memorandum of Understanding committing signatory organisations to a range of activities including training and awareness raising amongst their members in relation to this issue.
“This Government has already taken the necessary steps to prevent the practice of gay conversion therapy in the UK”.
