Identity cannot be "cured". Council of Europe overrules opponents and supports ban on conversion practices for trans people
The Council of Europe passes a resolution calling for a blanket ban on conversion practices across member states. The proposal passed despite intense lobbying by groups that sought to block or weaken it - particularly in the section on trans people and children.
The resolution was tabled by UK Labour MP Kate Osborne and aims to ban practices that seek to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ+ people. 71 members of the Council of Europe voted in favour of the motion, 26 opposed and two abstained. The vote took place on Thursday 28 January.
What are conversion practices and why are they problematic
Conversion practices - sometimes referred to as "conversion therapy" - involve physical and psychological forms of coercion designed to "correct" a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet expert consensus has long confirmed that neither sexual orientation nor gender identity can be changed.
These practices are often associated with conservative religious groups and, in extreme cases, can include forms of torture such as electric shocks. Many international health and human rights organisations consider them to be a serious violation of human rights.
Kate Osborne, in her justification for the proposal, stated that conversion practices have no scientific basis and have been shown to have serious effects on the mental health of victims. She said they lead to feelings of shame, guilt, self-loathing and worthlessness and increase the incidence of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts.
In addition, data from the US Trevor Project shows that people who have undergone conversion practices are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide and almost three times as likely to report repeat attempts within a year.
Pressure from opponents and the dispute over trans children
The approval of the resolution was preceded by a strong campaign by Sex Matters, a British so-called gender-critical organisation, urging members of the Council of Europe to reject the proposal. The group described the resolution as "shocking" and argued that a ban on conversion practices would make psychological assessments of trans children and adolescents more difficult.
Sex Matters said the resolution could penalise professionals or parents who "do not affirm a child's declared trans identity". The organization also repeatedly argues that some trans children may "grow out of gender dysphoria."
However, these claims are contradicted by research from the Society for Research in Child Development, which found that trans children are as consistent in their gender identity as their cisgender peers. The Good Law Project, a legal organization, responded to the Sex Matters lobbying by calling for immediate action against efforts to overturn the resolution before the vote.
According to the Good Law Project, more than 10,000 people joined the campaign, contacting their parliamentary representatives in the Council of Europe by email to urge them to support the motion.
"No one deserves to be tortured for who they are"
Jess O'Thomson, head of the trans rights agenda at the Good Law Project, described the passage of the resolution as a significant step not only for the trans community but also for other marginalised groups.
"As a queer person, I unfortunately have many friends who have gone through conversion practices. I have also had this experience myself," O'Thomson said. "No one deserves to be tortured for who they are."
The Council of Europe is an international organisation dedicated to the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law and is independent of the European Union. The resolution adopted is not legally binding, but it sends a strong political signal and puts pressure on member states to ban conversion practices in their national legislation.
