MLAs to debate bill aimed at banning conversation practices

A bill aimed at banning sexuality and gender conversion practices will be debated by assembly members (MLAs) for the first time at Stormont later on Tuesday.

It contains provisions that could see a two-year jail sentence imposed on people who conduct conversion practices.

Alliance's deputy leader Eóin Tennyson proposed the private member's legislation, but it has been criticised by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which said the bill "presents a real threat to freedom".

Unionist parties are expected to oppose the bill, but it is believed to have support from Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

Advocates say the legislation is about protecting LGBT people from harmful attempts to change or suppress who they are.

Critics contend it is a legislative overreach which limits freedom of choice for gay and trans people and risks criminalising important conversations around sexual orientation and gender.

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Ahead of the debate, Tennyson said it was "balanced legislation".

"No one should face coercion, abuse or harm because of who they are or who they love. This is balanced legislation which protects LGBT+ people from harm whilst also upholding freedom of speech and freedom of religion," he added.

"For too long, Northern Ireland has lagged behind on equality. This legislation represents a historic opportunity, not only to prohibit these outdated practices, but also to lead change across these islands and send a clear message that LGBT+ people are entitled to the same dignity, respect and rights as everyone else."

But DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said the legislation is vague and that Northern Ireland already has laws to deal with abuse and coercive behaviour.

"We can protect people from mistreatment without creating vague new offences that reach into homes, churches and private conversations," he added.

Conversion practices - sometimes called "reparative therapy" or "gay cure therapy" - try to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the British Psychological Society (BPS).

In practice, it means trying to stop or suppress someone from being gay or from identifying as a different gender to their sex recorded at birth.

It often includes talking therapies and prayer but more extreme forms can exist.

The BPS and other professional bodies, including NHS England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said all types of conversion practices are "unethical and potentially harmful".

The bill would make it a criminal offence to provide conversion therapy, or to engage in coercive conversion behaviour, with the goal of changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

It would also make it an offence to remove a person from Northern Ireland for the purposes of subjecting them to conversion practices.

The definition for coercive behaviour is borrowed from the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021.

It includes violent or threatening behaviour, humiliating the victim, or controlling their to day activities.

The bill was brought to the assembly floor by Alliance Party MLA Eóin Tennyson, but Stormont politicians have debated the issue of gay conversion practices before.

In 2021, MLAs passed an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) motion calling for it to be banned in all forms, however it was not binding.

However the UUP has now changed its position under new leader Jon Burrows and has said it will vote against the bill, saying it is "excessively broad, legally uncertain and potentially damaging".

The TUV is also expected to vote against the legislation.

The private member's bill has been brought forward by Alliance Party MLA Eóin Tennyson [PA Media]

When Sinn Féin held the communities brief in the executive, several of its ministers advocated banning the practice - with Deirdre Hargey at the time saying her officials were drafting a bill, but a subsequent collapse of power-sharing meant this got no further.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP assembly member Gordon Lyons became communities minister in 2024 when devolution was restored.

He is expected to respond to Tennyson during the debate.

Unionist parties cannot use a veto mechanism known as a petition of concern at this stage but they could seek to use it in future, if the bill passes its second stage on Tuesday.

In England, the government has published its own plans to legislate to ban the practice there, which could carry jail time and fines for those found to have carried out "abusive acts" aiming to change someone's sexual orientation or transgender identity.