Legislation to ban conversion practices was first promised in 2018, but was subject to several government U-turns and the resignation of the government’s LGBT+ Advisory Panel.
The BBC understands that advisors had previously failed to reach a consensus over whether bringing in legislation risked criminalising parents or professionals who had exploratory conversations with young people experiencing gender-related distress.
The government says the draft proposals include exemptions for legitimate healthcare, and set a “high threshold” for criminality so that “only acts that are abusive, seeking to change someone’s identity” will be covered by the law.
Dr Hilary Cass, author of a landmark report into children’s gender identity services, said it was important the legislation allowed healthcare professionals to do their job “without fear of litigation”.
She said: “I am pleased to see that the government is bringing forward legislation which not only gives a clearer definition of what conversion practices are, compared to previous drafts, but also what they are not.”
The proposals will likely lead to intense scrutiny, both from campaigners who say the legislation is long-overdue, and from those who have concerns over the potential unintended consequences of a ban.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, says any legislation brought forward would “needlessly restrict freedom of speech and prayer”.
She told the BBC the legislation would have a “chilling impact” on therapists and religious leaders attempting to support people with questions around their sex or gender.
She said: “Genuinely abusive and harmful practices are already illegal in the UK. A new ban would target prayer and consensual conversations that many people find beneficial.
“The counselling room and the pastor’s room are places that should be free for them to explore that fully.”
Williams told the BBC she will launch a legal challenge against any law banning conversion practices.
Baptist minister Justin Kennedy, who says he underwent conversion practices in his early 20s, says a ban will help prevent harm.
He told the BBC he was left suicidal after spending six years undergoing “deliverance therapy”, where pastors would pray over him to “clear out demons” and try to blame “past trauma” for his sexuality.
He said: “When somebody that you respect, and who you believe holds knowledge of God tries to rewire you, the knock-on effects are absolutely drastic.
“The only thing I lost through deliverance therapy was my faith, and what came in its place was shame and suicidal ideation.”
The BBC understands a process of pre-legislative scrutiny for the bill will begin in the coming weeks, and is expected to last around three months.
It will then need to go through several stages in the House of Commons, where MPs can table and vote on amendments, and the House of Lords before it can become law.
