What is “gay conversion therapy”? It is any kind of coercive, sometimes religiously motivated, practice to try to force a lesbian, gay or bisexual person to be straight. We strongly oppose such cruel practices and support the ban announced by the government.

And let’s be clear: we also strongly oppose any kind of coercive, sometimes religiously motivated, practice to try to force a person to change their self-stated “gender identity”.

However, some transactivists consider ANY psychotherapy for kids going to gender clinics to be a form of “conversion therapy”. They urge simple affirmation. If a girl says she is a boy, they want the clinician to affirm it, without exploring the many issues that may be involved.

That is why we oppose lumping “gender identity” together with “sexual orientation” when it comes to a ban on “conversion therapy.” It has to be clear what is meant.

We know that many kids who say they are trans are struggling with their sexuality or other issues such as homophobia in the family. We want psychotherapists to be free to do their job and explore all the issues that may be involved.