We're calling for the NI Assembly to ban conversion therapy in Northern Ireland.

Conversion Therapy, otherwise known as reparative therapy, is a dangerous and harmful practice that aims to "curing" LGBT+ people of their identity. 

The Ban Conversion Therapy Campaign recently wrote an open letter to the UK Government, signed by LGBT organisations, politicians, activists, and health professionals, calling for the UK Government to legislate for a UK wide ban. As Health is devolved in Northern Ireland, we are calling on the Health Minister for Northern Ireland to legislate for a ban in Northern Ireland. 

In a recent letter response the Department of Health stated that they do not currently fund this type of "therapy" and that they have "no current plans to legislate for a ban". We believe that not funding this harmful "therapy" is the bare minimum of what we can expect from our Government, and that they should be actively taking steps to prevent further harm to other who may be on the receiving end of such practices.

"Conversion therapists use a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their LGBTQ identities. According to studies by the UCLA Williams Institute, more than 700,000 LGBTQ people have been subjected to the horrors of conversion therapy, and an estimated 80,000 LGBTQ youth will experience this unprofessional conduct in coming years, often at the insistence of well-intentioned but misinformed parents or caretakers." - The Trevor Project 

Being LGBT is not wrong or immoral, if you require any support or counselling please contact The Rainbow Project at www.rainbow-project.org