The government said a criminal threshold will be set at conduct including abusive acts that seriously harm the victim, following cases ranging from beatings and rape to exorcisms
The draft Conversion Practices Bill – covering England and Wales – was a Labour manifesto commitment from 2024(Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Perpetrators of abusive gay and trans ‘conversion therapies’ could face up to five years in prison and unlimited fines under a long-promised ban.
The penalty forms part of a draft law finally published today after years of delays and promises to ban the discredited practices.
It is sometimes wrongly referred to as “gay cure therapy” and typically involves attempts to suppress a person’s sexuality or gender identity.
The government said a criminal threshold will be set at conduct including abusive acts that seriously harm the victim. In extreme cases, it said some had recounted stories ranging from beatings and rape, to exorcisms.
The draft Conversion Practices Bill – covering England and Wales – was a Labour manifesto commitment from 2024.
Research during Theresa May ’s premiership – when a ban was first promised – showed nearly one in five (18%) of LGBT+ people in the UK have been subjected to someone attempting to change or “cure” them.
LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop also claimed its research had shown such practices “are not a thing of the past”. The organisation said that in 195 cases dealt with by their support services between 2022 and 2025, more than two thirds were recent or ongoing.
The government’s Office for Equality and Opportunity warned the abhorrent practices are still happening today, with subjected to physical, sexual, economic and psychological abuse.
Minister for Equalities Olivia Bailey said today: “Conversion practices are driven by the false belief that being LGBT+ is shameful and can be forcibly changed.
“No-one should face abuse just because of who they are. That’s why we are delivering on our manifesto commitment to ban abusive conversion practices.
“Legal loopholes have left LGBT+ people vulnerable to these harmful acts which is why we must legislate.”
Professor Subodh Dave, President of Royal College of Psychiatrists, welcomed the Bill’s publication to ban “these harmful practices”.
He said it is “important that in protecting people from these unacceptable practices, this legislation also supports healthcare professionals to continue to have appropriate exploratory conversations with their patients”.
Jasmine O’Connor, co-chief executive of Galop, said the charity “frequently witnesses the devastating impacts caused by conversion practices” and said gaps in the law had left LGBT+ people “unprotected against covert and insidious forms of abuse”.
She added: “We welcome this long-overdue legislation – it’s a vital first step toward addressing conversion practices as a distinct form of harm.”
Bishop of Manchester David Walker said the Church of England, whose parliament – or General Synod – had voted in favour of a ban in 2017 – welcomed the Bill as “a positive step” towards stopping practices which have “harmed LGBT+ people over many years, leaving many with lifelong trauma”.
