Parents, teachers and doctors risk JAIL for trying to talk child out of trans treatment

Parents, teachers and doctors all risk jail for trying to talk a child out of trans treatment under what has been dubbed a "dangerous" new law.

The equalities minister Olivia Bailey published a draft bill on Thursday to ban conversion therapy, which is a pseudoscientific practice attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Those who use physical or psychological abuse to prevent children from saying they are gay or transgender, the bill states, could face up to five years in prison.

Under the proposed legislation, a person found guilty of conducting the practice could face an unlimited fine, prison time or both, the Telegraph reports.

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The Office for Equality and Opportunity said talking children out of irreversible trans treatments would not come under the law as the offence would have to meet three components.

It would have to be not only for the intention of changing someone's identity, it would need to be abusive as well as causing long-term harm.

Ms Bailey insisted the law does not ban exploratory conversations or questioning about someone's sexual orientation or identity, nor outlawing beliefs about LGBT identities.

She stressed there were safeguards for healthcare professionals, therapists and counsellors.

The legislation also has a "high threshold" for criminality to protect freedom of speech, so only behaviour deemed abusive and likely to cause real, long-term harm to an individual would lead to prosecution.

Conversion therapy practices can involve, but are not limited to, talking and aversion therapy, brain surgery, chemical castration, surgical and chemical castration, hypnosis, psychoanalysis and even corrective rape.

There can also be various religious practices, including prayer and exorcism.

France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Malta and Ecuador have criminal bans on conversion therapy.

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However, the bill has drawn in criticism, saying the wording of the proposal is too broad, covering "controlling or coercive words or behaviour", "use of economic pressure" and "use of psychological or emotional pressure".

All of which, critics argue, could be used against parents, health professionals and teachers.

Maya Forstater, the chief executive of women’s rights charity Sex Matters, said: “This is a dangerous proposal that will harm the people it purports to protect."

She warned criminalising attempts to change someone's transgender identity would leave teachers and others who are required to recognise biological sex vulnerable to accusations of criminal harm.

Parents trying to help their children through a difficult period of time would risk police investigation, she added.

The women's rights charity chief called the Government "reckless" to push forward with the legislation, citing "many" gender questioning children "grow up to be gay instead".

She said: "The real abuse is that this was ever done in the name of medicine."

Bev Jackson, co-founder of the LGB Alliance, echoed Ms Forstater's sentiment: “Make sure everyone you know - especially parents - is aware of what is going on: including the proposal for five-year prison sentences for protecting your child from harmful drugs.”

The Free Speech Union has set up a petition calling on the Government to scrap the bill.

It wrote on X: "Any parent who ‘misgenders’ their confused adolescent daughter, or tries to talk them out of embarking on an irreversible medical pathway, could face criminal charges for trying to ‘convert’ them.

"It won’t just be parents and medical professionals who will risk imprisonment for trying to talk gender-confused children out of mutilating themselves.

"Any religious leader who shares the teachings of their faith on issues like homosexuality and gay marriage, could also face prosecution.

"That’s what this authoritarian Government wants to ban – any dissent from radical progressive orthodoxy when it comes to sex and gender."

Dr Hilary Cass, who carried out a review of gender medicine, said two years ago a ban on conversion therapy could make it harder for medical professionals to make sure a child really wanted to change their identity.

However, she has changed her mind, being convinced of the safeguards in place of the new legislation.

Dr Cass said: "I am pleased to see that the Government is bringing forward legislation, which not only gives a clearer definition of what conversion practices are, compared to previous drafts, but also what they are not.

"It is important that healthcare professionals providing much-needed holistic care to young people feel confident that they are able to do their job without fear of litigation."

Theresa May, the former Conservative Prime Minister, first introduced the idea of banning conversion therapy in 2018.

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