Statement on Conversion Practices
Safety4Sisters welcomes the draft bill on conversion practices, which has been long overdue due to gaps in existing legislation that enable conversion practices to continue. Safety4Sisters has supported LGBT+ women who have faced abusive conversion practices and honour-based abuse on the basis of their sexual orientation. However, we note with concern the high threshold which requires survivors to prove that conversion practices have causes "serious harm" to physical or mental health or "serious alarm or distress...which has a substantial adverse effect on their usual day-to-day activities". Conversion practices always cause serious harm and placing a burden on survivors to prove this to the court could cause unnecessary retraumatisation.
We are further concerned by the exemptions provided to healthcare services under the draft bill. Galop's research shows that 8% of the conversion practice incidents they recorded consisted of psycho-medical practices, primarily conducted by therapists, counsellors and psychiatrists through talk therapies. Safety4Sisters is concerned that the exemption for healthcare services could provide legal bases for psycho-medical conversion practices. To ensure the Bill fully protects all LGBTQ+ victim-survivors, we have joined the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition, a group which has long campaigned for a fully inclusive ban on conversion practices.
In the context of high rates of violence and harassment towards LGBT+ individuals, especially transgender people, it is imperative that the government ensures the draft bill does not cause or allow for any further harm. Rainbow Map has highlighted restrictions on puberty blockers for trans youth and consequences of the new EHRC code of practice, which may exclude transgender survivors from accessing vital services. These developments have led to the UK ranking just 22nd in Rainbow Map’s 2026 ranking of human rights and equality for LGBT+ people amongst 49 countries in Europe. The UK ranked first in 2016 and dropped to16th in 2024, showing the concerning backpedalling of equality and human rights over the past decade.
Safety4Sisters stands in solidarity with transgender survivors of abuse. Migrant transgender survivors face complex, intersecting barriers, including the hostile immigration system, racism, transphobia, honour-based abuse and conversion practices. Action must be taken to ensure all survivors of abuse can access safety and support, regardless of gender identity, race or immigration status.
For more information, contact us at safa@safety4sisters.org.