Plans to introduce a ban on conversion practices in Scotland should send “a strong message” to LGBTQ+ people that “the Scottish government is still with them”, according to Holyrood’s equalities minister.
Emma Roddick was speaking to the Guardian after launching a public consultation on the proposed ban on practices that aim to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
She agreed it amounted to a significant restatement of political intent for a community dispirited by the UK government-imposed block on Holyrood’s gender recognition reform bill, as well as escalating culture war rhetoric around transgender rights.
“I’m minister for equalities and I’m also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, so it’s really important to me that we’re working on that relationship,” she said.
“I understand why folk might look at current politics and feel a bit lost and like nobody’s sticking up for them and I want them to know that the Scottish government is.”
Campaigners are frustrated that the UK government left a similar ban – first promised by Theresa May in 2018 – out of the king’s speech. There is also alarm that the UK equalities minister Kemi Badenoch suggested last month that gender-affirming care for young people could be considered “a new form of conversion therapy”.
Roddick said there was “real unanimity” on the subject in Scotland, with every party including the Scottish Tories committing in their 2021 Holyrood manifestos to at least consult on a ban.
YouGov polling for the LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop published last January revealed that 18% of LGBT+ people in the UK had been subjected to someone trying to change, cure or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Scottish consultation, which is open until 2 April, was launched alongside an 86-page proposal document that suggests creating a new criminal offence of engaging in conversion practice. It is intended to include scenarios such as therapies that require a person to change their same-sex attraction, or continuing coercive behaviour such as controlling an individual’s activities and appearance.
Within minutes of Tuesday’s launch, the Catholic church in Scotland said the “worrying lack of clarity” in the proposals could create a “chilling effect”, while the Christian Institute has already announced it is preparing grounds for legal action.
The proposals state that any new offences would not include “non-directive and ethical guidance and support … whether that is provided by a healthcare practitioner, a family member or a religious leader”.
The document also distinguishes between the expression of “general statements of belief or opinion” and conversion practices. Proof of intent and the actual causing of physical or psychological harm would be required in order to successfully prosecute.
Roddick said she wanted faith groups to consider this “a genuine consultation”, pointing to the draft clauses included in the document as informing stakeholders “what we’re trying to do, what we’re not trying to do and how we want to approach it”.
Campaigners believe the Scottish government has learned from the deeply fraught experience of passing the gender recognition reform bill, although the general election makes it pointless to speculate on potential Westminster intervention, as ultimately occurred with the gender bill.
The proposals also explicitly exclude the provision of healthcare by a healthcare professional, including “medical treatment intended to align a person’s physical characteristics with their gender identity”, suggested that gender-affirming care would not be included in the ban, counter to Badenoch’s suggestion for the rest of the UK.
