AFTER SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT SHELVES OWN BILL, CITING C.I. JUDICIAL REVIEW THREAT
The Christian Institute has asked church leaders to put members on ‘prayer alert’ this autumn as the new Labour Government prepares to publish its draft conversion therapy Bill for England and Wales. The plea comes after the Scottish Government has delayed its own deeply repressive conversion therapy Bill after the CI threatened to bring a judicial review. The SNP Government is now hoping Westminster will legislate for Scotland instead. The Northern Ireland Executive is also considering calls for a Bill.
The charity has asked that churches keep their people up to date with developments on sexuality and gender. It points out that the shelving of conversion therapy laws in Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and elsewhere show that it is possible to persuade politicians that such laws are problematic. The Scottish Government recently admitted to LGBT activists from the group Out for Independence that it feared a judicial review of its Bill. The Christian Institute has defeated the Scottish Government in the courts before and its threat to JR the conversion therapy proposals on human rights and constitutional grounds was widely reported in the Scottish media.
The call for prayer comes at a time when a record number of people in the UK are applying to change legal sex, according to latest figures. The Ministry of Justice has reported that the Gender Recognition Panel received 1,397 applications between 2023 and 2024, 1,088 (77.9 per cent) of which were granted.
The annual number of applications has increased dramatically since 2021, when the application fee was reduced from £140 to £5. The process also moved online in 2022. There were 466 applications in 2020-2021, but this jumped to 802, then 1,240 and then 1,397 in each of the following three years.
In order to legally change sex, a person must have lived as if they are a member of the opposite sex for two years. Two medical diagnoses of gender dysphoria are also required, one of which must be from a specialist, and the application must be approved by a panel. But it is expected that applications may further increase in light of the Government’s plans to make the procedure easier.
In another recent development, the UK Government has confirmed that it does not intend to criminalise people who affirm a gender-confused person’s biological sex.
In a written question tabled in Parliament, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington asked the Government “what plans they have to make it a criminal offence to misgender an individual”. In response, Home Office Minister Lord Hanson clarified that there are “no such plans”.
In 2022, there was speculation that a Labour Government could criminalise ‘misgendering’, after Sir Keir Starmer told a PinkNews awards ceremony that it was “time for tougher hate crime laws”. He claimed that “every LGBT+ crime” should be treated as an aggravated offence. This pledge was incorporated into the Labour Party Manifesto 2024.
CI Deputy Director Simon Calvert commented: “For several years now there has been talk amongst politicians across the UK and Ireland of legislating for a ‘conversion therapy’ ban. We’ve been fighting them every step of the way and they have found the issue much more complex and riskier than LGBT groups make out. The can has been kicked down the road many times. There is a danger that Christians might stop praying, and stop contacting their politicians. But now is not the time to take our eye off the ball.
“Whilst every Christian is against the coercion or abuse of gay or trans people, there are long-standing concerns that, rather than outlawing abuse, a conversion therapy ban would outlaw harmless discussions within churches and families over sexuality and gender. At least five leading human rights KCs have separately advised that parenting, pastoring and prayer could all be caught. And the Scottish Government has put the brakes on its own Bill to avoid being taken to court by The Christian Institute.
“In the King’s Speech the new UK Government committed to presenting a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. Adding in that extra stage of pre-legislative consideration shows they know this is complicated. We think it is obvious that a Bill is not necessary, since verbal and physical abuse are already illegal. And it is evident that the very broad law against traditional Christian ethics that activists want would put the UK in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“Nonetheless, activists will continue to put pressure on the Government to push forward with a ban. We would be very grateful if church leaders would put their churches on ‘prayer alert’ over these issues, and ensure that church members are made aware of important developments in the areas of sexuality and gender.”
In October 2021, The Christian Institute launched ‘Let Us Pray’ as an umbrella group to inform churches about calls to outlaw so-called ‘conversion therapy’ and campaign for gospel freedom. Church leaders wanting up-to-date information can visit letuspray.uk
