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Survivors of harmful LGBTQ “conversion” practices have given a scathing review of the South Australian government’s draft legislation to ban the practices.
Conversion practices – sometimes referred to as “conversion therapy” – seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Major medical bodies, including the Australian Medical Association and Australian Psychological Society, all condemn the practices as ineffective, harmful and dangerous. Many subjected to them have higher levels of depression, PTSD and suicidal ideation, research shows.
The South Australian Labor government introduced the draft bill to ban the practices earlier this month.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the legislation sends a message to LGBTQIA+ people “you are loved just the way you are”. Maher said the legislation aims to protect people “from abuse at the hands of the small number of groups who perpetrate these practices.”
‘Loopholes, limitations and ambiguities’
However survivors from South Australia and nationally, who want the harmful conversion practices banned nationwide, say the state’s “tokenistic” bill is “deeply flawed” and will instead allow conversion practices to continue.
The draft bill has “loopholes, limitations and ambiguities” that will “embolden those who engage in conversion practices,” according to a joint statement from groups including SOGICE Survivors and the Brave Network.
“The bill’s definition does not account for the coercion, manipulation and conditioning that invariably precede conversion practices, known as ‘inducement,’” they warn.
The bill allows all conversion practices to continue if they occur on a single occasion. It does not allow independent third-party reporting.
“[The bill] sets an impossibly high bar for enforcement,” the groups report, and even give cover for the practices to continue.
‘Worst in Australia’
Russell Hoile, a conversion survivor advocate based in Adelaide, said the government has failed to understand the issue due to a lack of consultation.
“It is not fair for the government to ask us to welcome this bill,” he said.
Veteran South Australian LGBTQIA+ campaigner Dr Michael Pilling said the government had failed to consult with survivors of conversion practices.
“It’s shameful that the first Australian state to decriminalise homosexuality, is now positioning itself to be the worst in Australia on conversion practices,” he said.
It’s understood the bill is up for debate in the South Australian parliament on Tuesday.
Survivors’groups, Dr Pilling and national group Just.Equal have called for the bill to be amended and strengthened before it passes into law.
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