Ticking Mind Issues: Gay conversion laws

Articles:
- For me, my vote on the conversion practice bill is personal
- Flawed bill risks mental welfare
 

Articles:

- Will parents face jail time? Will churches face crippling fines?
- Banning cruel conversion practices for good

Will new laws banning ‘gay conversion’ also remove important freedoms?

Gay conversion therapies are discredited and often harmful processes that have been used in the past to ‘convert’ people from being gay to straight. The government in Victoria is currently seeking to pass a law that will make it illegal to try to convert someone from their gender or sexuality to a different one. This proposed law is called The Change or Suppression (conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill. Under this law, people found guilty of trying to convert someone’s gender or sexuality could be sent to jail for up to 10 years.

Many people support this proposed law, arguing that it will put an end to destructive conversion practices. However, there are also a range of critics of the bill who argue that the proposed law is so vague and wide reaching that it will prevent parents, teachers, counsellors or psychologists from discussing issues some people might have with their sexuality or gender for fear of being accused of trying to 
‘convert’ them. 

Church groups have been particularly critical of the new law, since the proposed ban makes specifically bans prayer based practices that seek to convert someone from being gay. Church groups contend that this tries to regulate what people can and can’t pray about and that it will also prevent people who are struggling with issues of sexuality from seeking spiritual guidance.