Ireland takes first step to ban conversion therapy

The Irish government has taken the first step towards banning conversion therapy just days after an all-island coalition demanded the harmful practice be outlawed.

The Republic of Ireland’s minister for children Roderic O’Gorman has asked government officials to investigate how conversion therapy, which refers to efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, could be banned once and for all.

The pseudoscientific practice has been debunked by almost every major psychiatric and medical organisation, while research has shown that conversion therapy survivors experience worse mental health outcomes.

Ireland’s three-party coalition pledged to outlaw conversion therapy in its programme for government last year – and moves are finally being made to protect LGBT+ people from the damaging practice.

Officials in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have prepared a scoring paper on conversion therapy and are working with the Department of Health to forward proposals on legislation, TheJournal.ie reported on Thursday (15 April).

Minister O’Gorman told the news outlet that the government “must be proactive in banning practices that not only propagandise harmful and discriminatory messages, but ones that also have serious negative consequences on a young person’s mental health, with the potential to inflict long-lasting damage.”

He continued: “Legislating for a ban on conversion therapy will send a clear and unambiguous message to everyone, both younger and older, that a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression is not up for debate.”

Source: PinkNews