Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2020 to Question 58080 on Gay Conversion Therapy, what timescales the Government has agreed for the completion of the research that it has commissioned.

This government is committed to tackling the abhorrent practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ in the UK.

Our action will be determined by research to look at how best to define conversion therapy, where it is happening and who it is happening to.

When that is complete, we will bring forward proposals to ban conversion therapy, making sure that our measures are effective, so that innocent people no longer have to endure these vile practices.

Following a competitive tendering exercise, the Government Equalities Office has commissioned Coventry University to undertake initial research that sets out the scope of practices, where it is happening and how it affects those who have experienced it. The aims and objectives of this research, alongside it’s methodology, are included in the report, which will be published in due course.

Officials are also reviewing the legislative framework to establish the scope of conversion therapy practices that are not already unlawful. Where these dangerous practices are not already unlawful, we are examining the best ways to prevent them being conducted, without sending them underground. We will engage a wide range of stakeholders on these practices and any potential measures.