Ban Conversion Therapy - Write to Your MP

Hello, folks!
 
Recently there has been some utter bullshit where the Tories initially were dropping their plans to ban conversion therapy (despite promising to do so back in 2018), but after widespread criticism have now made a slight U-turn to continue the ban. I say slight because the bastards are only having it cover sexual orientation, not gender identity.
 
The Government’s reasons why gender identity isn’t included is because “this is a legally complex area, and we have a responsibility to ensure unintended consequences are not written into legislation, particularly in the case of under 18s,”.

So yet again it’s the bullshit of we MUST PROTECT THE CHILDREN except instead of it being from the gays, it’s from trans folks. This is the same shit they said before about sexual orientation, and I am certainly not standing for this crap. Will you join me in writing a letter to your local MP to let them know we stand with the trans and non-binary community?
 
Click here for a link to an email template created by the charity, Stonewall. PLEASE change it and personalise it. It is vital you do this as it’s much more effective than MP’s receiving the exact same, copied message from multiple constituents. You can edit the template before sending it, so PLEASE do so.
 
At the bottom of this blog post, I have copied the email I sent to my MP. You will notice how I did keep chunks from the template but altered them slightly so it wasn’t an exact copy, and also, I added in personalised paragraphs that focused on my MP specifically, and my beliefs. It would be beneficial if you research your own MP and see where they stand on conversion therapy as this could help your writing.
 
This is will take longer than five minutes. I’m moving away from showing advocating for your beliefs as something that can be quick and easy because we all have busy lives and sadly struggle to make time for it. Advocating for what we care about is hard, and it takes effort. So do block out some time for this. We must fight for a conversion ban that protects the entire LGBTQ+ community.
 
 
My email to my gay, Tory MP (yes, you heard me, a GAY TORY):
 
 
Dear Peter Gibson,
 
I am writing to ask for your support for a comprehensive ban on ‘conversion therapy’ in England and Wales, that will protect the entire LGBTQ+ community.
 
As I’m sure you’re aware, in 2018, the Government committed to banning conversion practices, and in October 2021 the proposals for such a ban were released. However, the week of March 31st, the Government appeared to abandon this commitment when it was leaked they intended to scrap the ban entirely.
 
Now the Government had made a partial U-turn in response to widespread criticism, declaring they would ban conversion therapy that seeks to change someone’s sexual orientation. However, trans and non-binary people would still be subject to this cruel and degrading practice.
 
I am glad to know from reading articles and bearing witness to your politics that you do support the conversion therapy ban and believe it should cover religious organisations. Before the draft legislation is written, it must include trans and non-binary people. As a queer woman myself, who has many loved ones that are transgender, and non-binary, I’m asking you to please write to the Prime Minister to call on him to keep his promise, and ensure that any draft legislation to ban conversion practices protects all LGBTQ+ people.
 
In the Government’s 2018 National LGBT Survey, that had over 108,000 respondents (the largest national survey ever conducted in the world), it found that trans people are twice as likely to have been offered or undergone conversion therapy. Last week research was published by Galop that shows 11% of trans people have experienced conversion therapy at the hands of their own family members.
 
Conversion practices are abuse. They cause long-lasting and severe physical and psychological suffering and violates the human rights of LGBTQ+ people. The UN Independent Expert report on conversion practices found that individuals subjected to this abuse experienced “significant loss of self-esteem, anxiety, depressive syndrome, social isolation, intimacy difficulty, self-hatred, shame and guilt, sexual dysfunction, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as often significant physical pain and suffering.”
 
By committing to banning conversion therapy for sexual orientation, but not for gender identity, the Government suggests that it is fine to subject trans and non-binary people to this abuse.
 
I’m aware from an article posted on the Northern Echo on April 2nd, you expressed your gratitude at the conversion therapy abuse ban being included in the Queens Speech once again, and stated how we just need to get on with it and scrutinise/debate the draft legislation once it has been written. However, the draft legislation should not be written until its intention is to protect the entire LGBTQ+ community. Progressing with the draft without making sure trans and non-binary people are included is unacceptable.
 
Will you write to the Prime Minister to express your support for a ban on conversion therapy that protects trans and non-binary people? Will you make clear that you will argue for a ban that protects trans and non-binary people throughout the legislative process? As an MP who is part of LGBTQ+ community, we need your support for a ban on conversion therapy that protects all LGBTQ+ people, in all settings.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with you further and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Megan Hemsley
 

Thank you for taking the time to help protect the entire LGBTQ+ community.
 
Love and Rage,

Megan x