‘Immensely warranted’: therapy experts welcome ‘conversion therapy’ ban

Two leading experts on therapy and gender identity healthcare have told Parliament they support the Government’s draft Bill to ban conversion practices. Dr Igi Moon and Dr Alison Berner gave evidence today to the Joint Committee on the Draft Conversion Practices Bill.

Dr Moon chairs the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK. The Memorandum is signed by the UK’s main health, counselling, and psychotherapy bodies. Dr Berner is President of the British Association of Gender Identity Specialists. Both said the Bill would protect people without stopping therapists from doing their jobs. Humanists UK, which campaigns for a comprehensive ban, welcomed their evidence.

Dr Moon told the Committee:

‘I think the Bill is immensely warranted. I think it’s incredibly well thought through Bill… I have been on this campaign for 15 years… I find it very emotional to be in this space after so long, to be sat here discussing what is potentially and profoundly life-changing for some people. I think it’s an immensely profound moment.’

Members of the draft Bill committee questioned if the ban would put off therapists from working with people exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity. Both witnesses rejected this. Dr Moon said that under the Bill, a therapist would need to fall ‘far below’ their professional standards to commit an offence. She added that ‘the idea that therapists wouldn’t be able to go into a setting… for fear of something dreadful happening is not accurate.’

Dr Berner told the Committee the Bill would add ‘a degree of clarity that does not currently exist’. She said:

‘[Therapists] are providing a menu of options that might be the right approach for that person at the right time… which differs very much from leading someone to a particular conclusion about their identity, particularly if that differs from the person’s preceding conclusion, and trying to force that upon them… You come to your own conclusion about whether you can make a diagnosis, but you don’t convince the person… You don’t say, “I’ve come to this conclusion about you and this is therefore what you are.” That’s the step too far.’

Nathan Stilwell, Head of Press and Campaign Communications for Humanists UK, said:

‘These experts have told Parliament plainly that the ban will protect good therapy. Open, exploratory support that lets people reach their own conclusions about who they are and who they love is exactly what the Bill leaves alone. The ban would stop a practice pushing someone towards a set outcome. We urge Parliament to pass a comprehensive ban without delay.’