Chilling proposals for Scottish conversion therapies ban

Church leaders could lose their jobs and face re-education and criminal sanctions if far-reaching proposals for a conversion practices ban are adopted by the Scottish Government. Parents found to have engaged in conversion practices could have their rights over their children restricted or removed completely.

A report, published by an ‘expert’ advisory group on ending conversion practices, goes so far as to malign the traditional teaching of ‘the importance of marriage’ as a tool for LGBT suppression. Its proposals, for both criminal and civil sanctions, are trans-inclusive and embedded in gender ideology and have been criticised as ‘entirely divorced from reality’.

Publicly-available minutes of the group’s meetings reveal that its members decided early on to model its proposals on the draconian ban on conversion therapies already in place in Victoria, Australia. The penalty is up to ten years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of £100,000.