Conversion practices are intentional acts with seek to change and/or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, or expression of that sexual orientation or gender identity. They are conducted on the belief that it is better to be straight or cisgender, and that being LGBT+ is wrong, broken and something that can be ‘fixed’.
Unfortunately, not all conversion practices are illegal in Scotland and that is why we are campaigning to #EndConversionPracticesScotland. The Scottish Government has previously consulted on legislation but now it is time to introduce the Bill to the Scottish Parliament and end the harm for good.
Conversion practices do not work and have no medical or scientific justification or validity. However, they do cause lifelong harm, pain and suffering to survivors due to their degrading and inhumane nature which can result in psychological and physical damage for LGBT+ people who are subjected to them. Nobody should be made to change or suppress who they are or who they love in Scotland today.
If you or someone you know is experiencing conversion practices now, in the past or you are worried you might in future, you can seek support at the confidential LGBT+ Helpline Scotland hosted by LGBT Health and Wellbeing via:
Opening hours are:
We have produced a series of resources to help aid understanding of what conversion practices are, the different forms they take, the impacts they have on people and why legislative and policy measures are necessary to end them in Scotland. The three anonymised stories, based on survivor’s testimonies, can be read here:
You can also visit our main website for more detailed information.
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Equality Network is a national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality and human rights charity.
The Equality Network is a registered Scottish charity: SC037852, and a company limited by guarantee: SC220213.
We are grateful for funding from the Scottish Government
