King Charles is pledging to ban conversion therapy in England and Wales.
The 77-year-old royal issued a speech on Wednesday (May 13) confirming the news.
“My Government will bring forward a Bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding [Remediation Bill] and a draft Bill to ban abusive conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill].” – King Charles
The government writes the King’s Speech, which outlines its legislative agenda, according to the Washington Blade.
“Conversion practices are abuse, and the government will deliver the manifesto commitment to bring forward a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices,” the government in an addendum to the speech, via the outlet.
“Officials say the ban will be carefully targeted to avoid interfering with legitimate healthcare for those exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity. The legislation will cover England and Wales only, as criminal law is devolved across other UK nations, and will be published for pre-legislative scrutiny to allow expert and stakeholder input before it progresses further,” Pink News adds.
This is not the first time that the ban has been promised, however.
Then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s government in 2018 announced it would “bring forward proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy in the U.K.,” via the Washington Blade.
Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in 2022 said it would support a ban that did not include gender identity. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party included a conversion therapy ban in its manifesto in 2024 as well.
LGBTQ rights organization Stonewall co-issued a statement in response to the King’s Speech this week.
“The Government has once again committed to hashtag #BanConversionPractices in the King’s Speech. While this is welcome, this is now the fourth time a King’s Speech has included the commitment, the second under this government. We need an end to the empty promises. It’s time for decisive action. That’s why we’re calling on the government to publish their draft legislation before Parliament breaks for summer recess. Conversion practices continue to cause profound harm to LGBTQ+ people, there is no place for this abuse in the UK. This legislation has already been delayed for far too long.”
“Prime Minister @keirstarmer has just reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to #BanConversionPractcies in his speech to the House of Commons. This comes after it was included in the King’s Speech earlier today. We’ve heard from four Prime Ministers that they will ban these harmful practices, and we hope this will be the one that delivers. We’re calling on the Government to publish its draft Bill by summer recess, and the clock is ticking,” they added in a second post.
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