A Conservative MP has worked with religious and ‘LGBTQ+ advocacy groups’ to produce a definition of ‘conversion therapy’ which puts prayer in the same category as the ‘corrective rape’ of an individual.
Alongside producing legislation that bans ‘forced therapy’, as the government has suggested it is keen to do, the proposals include a requirement to report any of the practices defined as ‘conversion therapy’.
MP Alicia Kearns notes, in an article promoting her work, that the practice ranges from ‘prayer sessions to … electroshocks … or even corrective rape’. Kearns says: ‘Any ban must include … attempts to prevent, against the individual’s wishes, a gender transition.’
Kearns notes: ‘This must not ban support which in good faith explores someone’s gender identity, but stop non-consensual attempts to prevent someone from expressing their own identity.’ It is not clear that parents would be protected as they could be deemed to be attempting to stop their child expressing their ‘gender identity’ if they don’t use the child’s assumed name and pronouns, or embrace their new ‘gender expression’.
Prayer in church
Prayer requests over someone’s unwanted orientation would seemingly need to be reported, if Kearns’ suggestion is taken up. This could make a church member fall foul of the law if they failed to report a prayer session that someone willingly requested.
en has previously reported that UK therapists do not offer unwanted ‘conversion’ or ‘change’ therapy. If Kearns’ proposal was successful, an outcome could be that a married man could receive therapy or prayer for help overcoming adultery committed with women, but not for help to stop having affairs with other men.
