Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s warning about potential criminalization following a ban on conversion therapy has raised controversy and concerns from those seeking equality for LGBTQ+ individuals. Here’s the full story.
Conversion Criminalization
Disgraced former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who was ousted after suggesting that police should crack down harder on anti-war protesters, has once again sparked outrage by expressing her thinly veiled homophobic concerns about the potential criminalization of conversion therapy.
Fighting Nature
During a parliamentary debate on the ban of conversion therapy, a deeply troubling and unproven method of using spiritual counselling or behaviour modification to change a person’s sexuality, Suella Braverman voiced her apprehension on the matter.
Demonizing Parents
She asserted that a ban on conversion therapy could lead to the demonization of parents who shared their beliefs about gender identity with their children.
“Criminalized”
In Parliament, Braverman suggested that she would be “criminalized” for telling her children her views on transgender people if the bill were to be passed.
Homophobic Bingo
Braverman brought out the well-worn homophobic trope of assuming that a person experiencing gender dysphoria somehow had a mental illness, stating, “If I were in the position of having a child presenting anxiety, my own child presenting questions like this, I would want to support them, I’d want them to be happy but I’d also want to direct them in the way I knew best, consistent with my parental authority, educating and teaching them about gender and sex.”
“A Place of Love”
She continued: “And in my view, in our household, in my family, we believe that a man cannot be a woman, a boy cannot be a girl and that is what I would be telling my children, with the best intentions and from a place of love.”
“A Crying Shame”
Braverman then tried to associate conversion therapy with the rights of parents to control their children based on the parent’s beliefs, saying that if the ban “were to criminalize me… that would be a crying shame and a total undermining of good parenting in this country.”
Loudest Minority
Braverman is not alone in objecting to the current wording of the bill.
Still, her recent forays into far-right rhetoric have made her the most noticeable voice against what most regard as an essential piece of legislation protecting the LGBTQ+ community.
“Unintended Consequences”
Like Braverman, Equalities Minister Maria Caulfield stated that the bill suffered from a “lack of legislative clarity, which risks unintended consequences.”
Condemning Conversion Therapy
However, despite the pushback from a hard right wing of the Conservative party, the vast majority of professional bodies in the UK, including the British Psychological Society (BPS), NHS England, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, have unequivocally condemned conversion therapy as unethical and potentially harmful.
Empirical Evidence
Their stance is grounded in empirical evidence and clinical expertise, emphasizing the detrimental effects of such practices on individuals’ mental health and well-being.
Alarming Prevalence
As if that weren’t enough, a UK-wide government survey of LGBTQ+ individuals revealed the alarming prevalence of conversion therapy, particularly among religious communities.
Critical Legislation
Despite efforts to address this issue, the pervasive nature of conversion therapy further underscores the need to pass this critical legislation.
Long Road
The long road toward the passing of the ban on conversion therapy has been fraught with delays and policy shifts.
Several Setbacks
Initially proposed nearly six long years ago, the bill has encountered several setbacks and revisions.
Broken Promises
Even some within the Tory party voiced their concerns over the painfully slow progress toward making the bill law. MP Peter Gibson responded to the Equalities Minister: “We have had so many promises from the Government of bringing this legislation forward. It has appeared in two Queen’s Speeches. We were promised this legislation in January 2023.”
Religious Freedom
The vast majority of the pushback against the ban on conversion therapy is based on concerns over religious freedom, as LGBTQ+ individuals who are religious are considerably more likely to have conversion therapy suggested to them or even forced upon them than those who are not religious.
Majority of One
However, most of the British public, and even several MPs from her party, disagree with Suella Braverman’s latest outburst in Parliament.
Self-Harm Epidemic
The need for a bill banning conversion therapy would not criminalize parents who wish to condemn their children for being LGBTQ+ but seeks to eradicate a practice that plays an outsized role in the epidemic of self-harm amongst those in that community.
Individual Freedom
Conservatives claim to believe in the sanctity of the individual and their rights, so it seems that by speaking out against the ban on a practice that, by its very nature, attempts to change and control an individual, Braverman is not just going against the country with her backward beliefs, but against the very party she belongs to.
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The post “Criminalized” – Suella Braverman Defends Teaching Her Children That Gender Is Biological first appeared on Edge Media.
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Grant Gallacher is a seasoned writer with expertise in politics and impactful daily news. His work, deeply rooted in addressing issues that resonate with a wide audience, showcases an unwavering commitment to bringing forth the stories that matter. He is also known for satirical writing and stand up comedy.