Survivors in the UK describe how attempts to change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity left them with shame, distress and lasting effects. Humanists UK has published eight accounts as the Government’s draft Conversion Practices Bill undergoes scrutiny. Their stories put a human face on a difficult question: what protection exists while proposed legal changes remain just that - proposals?

Essential Takeaways

  • Eight people speak out: Their accounts describe prayer, Bible study, church groups, family pressure, humiliation and efforts to suppress their identity.
  • The practices vary: Some survivors describe pressure from religious leaders; others recount ultimatums at home or being encouraged to marry someone of another sex.
  • A draft is not a ban: The Government’s proposed Bill applies to England and Wales and is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny.
  • The evidence raises concerns: A Government assessment found no robust evidence that conversion practices change sexual orientation or gender identity, and reviewed research linking them with reported harms.
  • The figures have limits: Consultation responses offer a window into reported experiences, but aren’t a representative measure of how common conversion practices are across the UK.

Eight accounts show how pressure can take different forms

The testimonies gathered by Humanists UK describe a range of efforts to change or suppress people’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Some involved prayer groups or Bible study; others included family ultimatums, humiliation, pressure to marry and an apparent exorcism.

The effects described are just as personal. Contributors recount guilt, distress, difficulty forming relationships and enduring mental health consequences. One survivor says years of treatment left him with PTSD; another describes being taught to police his own thoughts. These are individual accounts, not a measure of how often such practices occur, but together they show how pressure can enter both private life and religious settings. [2]

The Government Bill is still a draft

Humanists UK says the experiences described remain legal and is urging readers to support a ban. The Government has published a draft Conversion Practices Bill for England and Wales, but the proposal is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny rather than operating as an enacted law.

That distinction matters. The draft sets out proposed criminal offences relating to abusive practices and civil protection orders, among other measures, but those proposals aren’t the same as protections already in force. Parliament’s listing confirms that the Bill was referred for scrutiny, a step that comes before any decision about whether and how to bring forward legislation. [3][7]

Research finds no robust evidence of effectiveness

A Government-commissioned assessment found no robust evidence that conversion practices can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It also reviewed studies associating such practices with self-reported harms, including depression and suicidal feelings.

The assessment comes with important caveats: research is uneven, many studies rely on people reporting their own experiences, and evidence about efforts to change gender identity is more limited than research on sexual orientation. It doesn’t assess the eight contributors individually, but it helps explain why their accounts of shame and distress sit within a wider set of concerns about these practices. [4][6]

Faith settings feature in reported experiences

The testimonies often describe religious settings, from prayer and Bible study to pressure from church leaders. Government analysis of consultation responses offers a wider, though carefully limited, point of comparison: faith organisations or groups were involved in the most recent experience described by 68% of respondents who said they had experienced conversion practices.

Spiritual, religious or faith-based activities were the most commonly reported form in those responses. But these figures come from people who chose to take part in a consultation; they shouldn’t be read as a population-wide estimate. They do, however, help put the faith-based experiences in the testimonies in context. [5]

The human cost is the point

One survivor describes being taught to suppress thoughts from within; another recalls being encouraged to marry a woman despite knowing the approach wasn’t working. That sense of internal pressure is a striking thread running through accounts that otherwise differ in age, background and experience. [2]

For readers affected by the subject, the Humanists UK article points towards support. And for anyone following the proposed legislation, the key thing to watch is its progress through scrutiny: the publication of a draft is an important step, but it isn’t the same as a ban. [2][3][7]

The testimonies make the stakes personal; the draft Bill shows the legal question is still being worked through.

Source Reference Map

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