Spotting coercive conversion practices is getting easier, but action must follow. New research shows who’s at risk, where it happens, and why lawmakers and families need to act now to protect LGBT+ people from hidden religious abuse.

Essential Takeaways

  • Widespread and current: A Galop study found 68% of reported conversion practices were current, recent, or ongoing, showing this is not a historical issue.
  • Family-driven: In 76% of cases a family member initiated or perpetrated the abuse, with parents involved in 63% of situations.
  • Coercion common: 81% of incidents included coercive or controlling behaviours such as surveillance, threats, or restrictions on daily life.
  • Religious settings implicated: Religion-based practices appeared in 27% of cases and often overlapped with other abuse, from prayer to exorcisms.
  • Practical risk signals: Look out for isolation from community, enforced religious rituals, physical restraint during prayer, and sudden attempts to control finances or housing.

The cold fact: conversion practices are happening now, not just in the past

Galop’s new report draws on 195 anonymised frontline case notes collected between 2022 and 2025, and it shows most reported harms were recent or ongoing. You can almost feel the urgency in the examples , people contacting support while the abuse continued, or having only just escaped a controlling household. According to Galop, this is a present-day crisis that often hides behind claims of care or spiritual guidance. If you work with young people or in faith communities, that immediacy matters: it changes how quickly you need to respond.

Family and faith often act together as triggers of abuse

The data make one thing painfully clear: family members are the primary initiators of conversion attempts. Parents were implicated in nearly two-thirds of cases, and religious leaders or community figures frequently played a role in enforcing practices. Galop’s research highlights how control is woven into family dynamics , punishments, exile, or forced participation in religious “deliverance” ceremonies. Practically, that means safeguarding responses must look beyond formal institutions to the private spaces where family and faith intersect.

What religious conversion practices actually look like , from sermons to exorcisms

Not all conversion practices are dramatic, but some are. The report includes accounts of people being compelled to memorise Bible verses to suppress their sexuality, forced to watch sermons that “cast out” LGBT+ identities, or physically restrained during exorcisms. Some survivors described being struck with religious texts or subjected to painful rituals. These are not abstract harms; they’re sensory and humiliating, and they can involve physical violence. When assessing risk, note both the subtle psychological pressure and the explicitly violent rituals.

Why current law and proposed bills must close religious loopholes

Humanists UK and its Faith to Faithless programme have been vocal about how high-control religious groups can leave people isolated and vulnerable. The report’s findings strengthen calls for a comprehensive ban on conversion practices that doesn’t allow exceptions for “consent” coerced under duress or for religious reasoning. Lawmakers drafting protections for England, Wales and Northern Ireland need to account for coercion, power imbalances, and the family contexts Galop highlights. Otherwise, protections risk being toothless where they’re most needed.

How to spot the signs and offer practical help

If someone tells you about being pressured to change their identity, listen and take practical steps: document what they describe, suggest confidential support such as specialist helplines, and help them access immediate safety if they fear being forced to leave home. Organisations like Faith to Faithless provide tailored support for those leaving controlling faith communities, and Galop offers LGBT+ specific advocacy. When intervening, remember that threats to housing or finances are common levers of control; safety planning needs to address those realities.

What next , compassion, clarity, and tougher protections

This is both a legal and human problem: the report shows patterns that demand a clearer criminal stance and better resourcing for support services. Community leaders, health and social care workers, and MPs all have parts to play. Better training to recognise religiously framed coercion, funding for exit support, and laws that tackle coercion rather than abstract consent would make a real difference. It’s worth remembering that leaving a faith community can mean losing your whole support network , responses must combine legal protection with practical compassion.

It's a small change in policy and practice that can make every coerced ritual and forced prayer less likely , and give survivors safer ways to rebuild their lives.

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