Council of Europe votes to ban conversion practices despite last-ditch lobbying from Sex Matters
"No state should claim fidelity to human rights while allowing these practices to continue," said Helena Dalli, former European Commissioner for Equality
By Aaron Sugg
The Council of Europe has voted to ban conversion practices, despite attempts by the group Sex Matters to block the move through lobbying.
In the week leading up to the vote, more than 10,000 people contacted UK parliamentary representatives at the Council of Europe urging them to support the ban.
The European Commission delegated on 29 January whether conversion practices should be barred in continent after gender-critical human-rights charity Sex Matters begun campaigning against the ban.
“No child is born in the wrong body” – Sex Matters campaign
Conversion practices attempt to force attraction of gay, bi and lesbian people to the opposite sex, or force trans people to identify with recorded birth sex.
Sex Matters controversially argue that the ban “if passed, will make it even harder to help children who are confused about their sex,” encouraging people to use the Athena Forum, which describes itself as a “European initiative for sex-based rights, democratic values and political courage,” campaigning: “No child is born in the wrong body.”
“It’s now time for the UK government to follow the Council of Europe” – Jess O’Thomson, Good Law Project, calling for action
Jess O’Thomson, Trans Rights Lead at the Good Law Project, welcomed the vote. She said in a statement issued to the Good Law website: “As a member of the queer community, I sadly have many friends who have been subjected to conversion practices.”
“I was unfortunate enough to experience them myself,” she continued. “No person deserves to be tortured for who they are.”
Calling for action, she said: “It’s now time for the UK government to follow the Council of Europe, and ensure a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices.”
Keir Starmer pledges in his manifesto to ban conversion practices
As part of his manifesto, Keir Starmer, taking office in 2024, pledged to introduce a “full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices,” though this has yet to materialise.
The decision follows years of advocacy by Kate Osborne MP, as of April 2022, she has been pushing for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, citing it as “abuse”.
Helena Dalli, former European Commissioner for Equality and former Minister for European Affairs and Equality of Malta ruled: “Either Europe affirms, unequivocally, that diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity is part of the human condition, or it tolerates practices that treat it as a pathology.”
She concluded: “No state should claim fidelity to human rights while allowing these practices to continue”
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