In recent weeks,  Queensland  and  the ACT  became the first Australian jurisdictions to ban conversion therapy.

Both passed laws making the  widely discredited  practice a criminal offence.

While this is progress, it is not enough to adequately protect LGBTIQ Australians from the devastating impact of conversion therapy. A national approach is needed.

What is conversion therapy?

Conversion therapy involves practices aimed at changing the sexual orientation, gender identity or expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse people.

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The goal is achieve an exclusively  heterosexual and cisgender identity  (in other words, where a person’s gender identity matches that assigned at birth).

In Australia,  religious-based  conversion therapy is most common, and includes things like counselling for “sexual brokenness”, prayer, scripture reading, fasting, retreats and “spiritual healing” .

According to the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, so-called “therapeutic” measures can also include forms of abuse like beatings, rape, electrocution, forced medication, confinement, forced nudity, verbal abuse and  aversion therapy.

Even more extreme measures  throughout history  have included castration, lobotomy and  clitoridectomy.

Crucially, conversion therapy does not refer to interventions that help affirm a person’s lived gender identity, such as for transgender people.

How widespread is it?

There are no studies of the prevalence of conversion therapy in contemporary Australia, but a 2018 Human Rights Law Centre/La Trobe University  report  pointed to the United Kingdom as a reasonable comparison.

The UK’s 2018  national LGBT survey  saw 2% of respondents report having undergone conversion therapy, with a further 5% reporting they had been offered it. People from multicultural and multi-faith backgrounds were up to three times as likely to report being offered it.

As The Age  reported in 2018, conversion therapies are commonly encountered in religious settings.

[They are] hidden in evangelical churches and ministries, taking the form of exorcisms, prayer groups or counselling disguised as pastoral care. They’re also present in some religious schools or practised in the private offices of health professionals.

Why does it need to be banned?

The practice  causes real harm to survivors, many of whom live with acute and long-lasting distress, psychological damage, feelings of guilt and  isolation  as a result. Conversion therapy encourages internalised homophobia, self-hatred, shame and confusion about sexuality and gender identity.

In addition to direct harms, the practice also  violates human rights.

It is opposed by many professional medical and human rights bodies, including the  Australian Psychological Society,  Australian Medical Association  and the  United Nations.

The  Independent Forensic Expert Group  recently released a statement, stressing the “lack of medical and scientific validity of conversion therapy”.

Conversion therapy has  already been banned  in a number of countries including Brazil, Malta,  Germany  and  parts of Spain, and the United States.

Canada is moving towards a  national ban, while the European Parliament has  condemned the practice. In July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also pledged a ban  in the UK.

Australia’s progress to date

In the lead up to the 2019 federal election,  federal Labor  promised a nationwide ban.

But Prime Minister  Scott Morrison  said while he didn’t support conversion therapy, it was “ultimately a matter for the states”.

On top of Queensland and the ACT,  Victoria  also intends to ban the practice, and South Australia’s  Labor opposition  is calling for a ban.

A national approach is required

While Australia is making welcome progress, a much more comprehensive approach is needed. Conversion practices remain legal in most of Australia, despite their clear harms.

Queensland’s ban  has been criticised  for not capturing the  less-formalised practices  in religious settings.

It is important to note the UN’s independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity  recommends  banning conversion therapy beyond just healthcare to include religious, education, and community settings.

Lawmakers so far have also focused on balancing the rights of LGBTIQ people with religious freedoms. For example, the ACT legislation  was amended  after Christian schools  raised concerns  the definition of “conversion” was “vague and imprecise” (the ACT Law Society  also criticised  the bill as “too broad”).

The Morrison government’s  controversial  religious discrimination legislation,  stalled due to COVID-19, may also raise difficult questions for state lawmakers.

Legal groups, such as the  Law Institute of Victoria, have already criticised the proposed legislation for allowing health professionals to put their religious beliefs before the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights.

State-based bans could also be undermined by federal religious freedom exemptions.

A new system is needed

Australia needs to enact a ban that works in concert with federal human rights and anti-discrimination law, overseen by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

This is essential to counter any ramifications of the proposed religious freedom legislation and address recommendations made by the UN.

Ultimately, law reform also needs to go hand in hand with complaint mechanisms and other support for victims. This includes community awareness campaigns to tackle the deep discrimination and prejudice at the heart of conversion practices.

Written by Larissa Sandy, Anastasia Powell and Rebecca Hiscock. Republished with permission of The Conversation.