--- title: "Still legal: eight people describe the conversion practices they went through" date: "2026-11-12T11:14:02+00:00" modified: "2026-11-12T11:14:07+00:00" url: "https://humanists.uk/2026/11/12/still-legal-eight-people-describe-the-conversion-practices-they-went-through/" post_id: 203022 categories: ["LGBT Humanists", "News"] --- # Still legal: eight people describe the conversion practices they went through ![](https://i0.wp.com/humanists.uk/wp-content/uploads/conversion-stories-banner-duo.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1)Nick, Zak and Dean – All survivors of conversion practices.Humanists UK has campaigned to ban conversion practices for more than 45 years. Since the Government published its Bill to ban conversion practices, Humanists UK has seen a deluge of misinformation and an organised campaign to stop the Bill. Many people have been in touch with Humanists UK to share their stories. These stories are harrowing and a difficult read, so there’s signposting for support at the bottom. But what connects all of these stories is that the practices these people went through are still legal today. That must change. ### Philip, 69, London > ‘I “confessed” to some of the elders of the church that I had same-sex attraction feelings. Initially I had a lot of support, in that if I confessed this to god I would be given the strength not to give in to these feelings. As time went on I became more and more distressed as the feelings didn’t go… I had people praying over me to “rid me of the spirit of homosexuality”. One of the elders told me that if I continued down this path I would become the worst kind of homosexual and god would see me in the gutter… The guilt stayed with me for years, I would say well into my 30s.’ ### Laura\*, 20, Leeds > ‘My parents had been telling me that if I prayed hard enough, I’d want it, and I’d feel attracted to men and find a good husband… I had spent hours every night crying to myself that I was broken and needed to believe harder so I could be fixed… They gave me an ultimatum. They wouldn’t force me to go to the underground conversion camp – because even having me there would bring shame to the family’s “good christian name”. Instead, I would go to an extensive weight-loss camp to “work off the gay”, I would abandon my girlfriend, and I would never again speak of the sins I had committed. Otherwise, I would be kicked out with no job, car, money, or place to go. My bank account was connected to theirs – I truly had no choice… It pains me to know that people are being put through experiences like mine and worse every day… It’s torture, plain and simple.’ ### Andy\*, 60s, Bristol > ‘I went to a prayer group whose whole intention was to “cleanse me of my sexual desires”, remove any thoughts or ideas about my sexuality, and convince me to become celibate or marry a woman… I was involved with a branch of Catholics who “prayed over me” to attempt to rid the evils of homosexuality from me… It’s the constant pressure, be that from other people or just myself, that made me struggle immensely and made any meaningful relationships difficult if not impossible… I am now in my 60s. Though I am free from all of that, I cannot completely remove myself from the effects it had, even today.’ ### Sharon\*, 65, London > ‘I’m transgender and from the moment my mum became aware of it she tried everything within her power to convert me into the “normal” male child she apparently needed me to be. Tactics included humiliation, shaming, and terrorising me through religious quotations… On one occasion she called in a priest to do what appeared to me to be an exorcism, praying over me and commanding demons to come out of me… As a result of the treatment I was subjected to for 30 years, I now suffer from PTSD. To try to compel somebody to be something it is impossible for them to be is exactly what these conversion practices attempt to do. Nobody should ever have to endure what I went through.’ ### James\*, 40, Manchester > ‘I spent many years trying to “pray out the gay”, i.e. trying to use prayer to change my sexual orientation. Obviously, this doesn’t work! But I found that it gave an extra burden of guilt – not only was I gay, but also my prayers weren’t “good enough” to achieve a change in my sexual orientation… It was only years later, after I had stopped attending church, that I realised how damaging all of this had been.’ ### Nick Baldwin, 60s, Oxfordshire > ‘The minister led me through what I didn’t label at the time, but I’ve come to understand, was clearly conversion therapy… The minister very clearly had a predetermined purpose, to get rid of my homosexuality and to make me straight… It didn’t work, because you can’t really change someone’s sexual orientation. And every time I went there, in my mind or in exploration, I just felt even worse about it, because I thought I’d been cured. It just deepened that sense of shame and self-hatred, which is not a good place to be.’ ### Zak Winduss, 31, London > ‘I grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. When I was 13, two church elders questioned me in intrusive detail about an experience I’d had with another boy, and for the next three years I had weekly Bible study to manage what they called my “little problem”. We were taught that gay thoughts were like birds flying into your brain, and you had to shoo them away before they made a nest. So I policed myself constantly: “stop thinking that, stop thinking that”. I was sad all the time and thought everyone else was too. That’s how conversion practices often work: they don’t need to do it to you, because they teach you to do it to yourself. Since leaving, I’m genuinely happy. My baseline is happy.’ ### Dean Fudge, 56, Erith, Kent > ‘The leaders at my church told me my sexuality was disordered. They told me god could change it, if I would simply submit to his will, and all would be well. Except it wasn’t. I began attending conversion therapy groups, and I was taught that the most useful thing I could do to affect healing was to find a woman and marry her. I was honest with my wife about my sexuality but carefully couched it in the past tense. I knew conversion therapy was not working for me, and I encouraged others to try it. I was part of the abuse. I prayed to die. Every morning, every time we closed our eyes in church, my first prayer was the same: God, let me die. Ten years on, I am still angry. But I am honest about who I am. I am not entirely free yet. But I can smell it in the air, and I am reaching for it.’ None of the practices described in these stories is illegal today, and Humanists UK knows they are still happening. Join us in trying to ban them. [**Write to your MP**](https://humanists.uk/action/ban-conversion-therapy/) #### Notes \*Some names have been changed to protect identities. If you have a story you want to share, please email . For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Head of Press and Campaign Communications Nathan Stilwell at or phone 0203 675 0959 (media only). Learn more about the [Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition](https://www.banconversionpractices.com/). Read more about our work on [ending conversion practices](https://humanists.uk/campaigns/policy-unit/banning-conversion-practices/). Learn about [Faith to Faithless](https://www.faithtofaithless.com/) – our support network for people leaving high-control religions. If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, you can contact Samaritans free, day or night, on 116 123 or at [samaritans.org](https://www.samaritans.org/). Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. 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