UK’s LGBTQ+ Adviser Expresses "Dismay" Over Decision Not To Include Trans People In Conversion Therapy Ban
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The UK's special envoy on LGBTQ+ rights Lord Nick Herbert said he is “dismayed” by the decision not to include transgender people in a ban on conversion practices, and described the cancelation of the government’s equality conference as an “act of self-harm" by the LGBTQ+ lobby.
Lord Herbert, Boris Johnson’s LGBTQ+ adviser, wrote on his website: “The conference’s cancelation is damaging to the government and to the UK’s global reputation. But it is also an act of self-harm by the LGBT lobby.”
Over 100 LGBTQ+ and HIV organisations pulled out of the UK’s first international conference on LGBTQ+ rights, Safe To Be Me, in protest, leading to its cancelation, as reported. LGBTQ+ groups were understandably dismayed “when a promised conversion therapy ban was suddenly dropped and then only partially reinstated just hours later,” added Lord Herbert. “The exclusion of trans people reflected concern that more time is needed to ensure that legitimate therapies to help young people with gender dysphoria are not inadvertently criminalized… We must address the concerns and make the case for change, deploying the evidence and reassuring parliamentarians that a ban which includes trans people is a safe and justifiable course to take,” he wrote.
Lord Herbert also called for a royal commission to detoxify and take the politics out of the trans debate. “Weighing the evidence on contested areas such as sport, safe spaces for women, and gender identity services for children and young people […] would be a better way to detoxify the debate, protect trans people from being caught in the political crossfire, and find the common ground we need,” he added.
His message comes after the government has faced fierce criticism after a series of U-turns last week on promised legislation to outlaw conversion practices, and its backtracking on commitments to include transgender people in the ban. The anger continued over the weekend, with hundreds of demonstrators protesting against the government’s decision outside Downing Street, yesterday (Sunday).
Demonstrators shouted “keep trans in the ban” and “LGB with the T” while many waved the pink, white and blue transgender pride flag. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told the crowd: “We were promised a total ban but Boris Johnson has given us a half-baked ban, which we will never ever accept. The only ban worth having is a ban for everyone, including trans people.”
Related articles:
UK's LGBTQ+ Business Champion Resigns Over Government’s U-Turn On Trans Conversion Therapy
UK Government Ditches Plan for Conversion Therapy, U-Turns in 3 Hours
Leading LGBTQ+ Organizations and Charities to Boycott UK’s International Safe To Be Me Conference
Welsh And Scottish Governments Pledge Conversion Therapy Ban
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