On Monday 4th April, as a small group of Christian leaders, we delivered a letter to the Prime Minister demanding that the ban on conversion therapy to be introduced to Parliament in its new session, does not exclude trans people

This is your opportunity to add your voice and signature to the petition.

A ban on ‘conversion therapy’ that excludes trans people is unacceptable. Trans rights are human rights. The UK Government’s own data shows that trans people are more likely to be subjected to so-called conversion therapy, especially in churches and other religious settings.

We wrote:

“Conversion to Christianity is the event or process by which a person responds joyfully to the glorious embrace of the eternally loving and ever-merciful God. It has nothing to do with so-called ‘conversion therapy’ – pressure put by one person on another to fit their expectations; the attempt to induce vulnerable and isolated people to deny who they truly are. 

“To be trans is to enter a sacred journey of becoming whole: precious, honoured and loved, by yourself, by others and by God. 

“To allow those discerning this journey to be subject to coercive or undermining practices is to make prayer a means of one person manipulating another. It is a wrong-hearted notion of care and a wrong-headed understanding of conversion. Every church should be a safe space that affirms people in being who they are, without fear of judgement.

“We see no justification for the ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ excluding trans people.

Our writing group were:

Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Former Archbishop of Canterbury

Revd Canon Sarah Jones, St John the Baptist church, Cardiff

Revd Canon Dr Rachel Mann, Area Dean of Bury and Rossendale

Revd Alex Clare-Young, URC Minister

Revd Jide Macaulay, Founder & CEO of House Of Rainbow

Very Revd Rogers Govender; Dean of Manchester

Very Revd Joe Hawes; Dean of St Edmundsbury

Professor Susannah Cornwall, Professor of Constructive Theologies, University of Exeter

Rt Revd Dr Alan Wilson; Bishop of Buckingham

Revd Paul Bailey; Pentecostal minister

Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Very Revd Dr David Ison, Dean of St. Paul’s, London

Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark, London

Revd Canon Steve Chalke, Baptist Minister and Founder of Oasis Trust

Please make your voice heard on this matter and stand in solidarity with the trans community, calling on the Government to ensure that any ban on conversion therapy includes trans people.  Sign this petition calling on our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to intervene to save trans people from the psychological, spiritual and sometimes even physical harm they suffer just for being who they are.

Thank you. Now, just one last thing. Please get others to sign this petition. Use your social media to pass the link to our campaign on to all your friends. Trans rights are human rights!