New Zealand has banned conversion practices, with near unanimity, after all but eight National party members voted in favour of the law.
Conversion “therapy” refers to the practice, often by religious groups, of trying to “cure” people of their sexuality, gender expression or LGBTQI identity.
The legislation, which was passed on Tuesday evening, makes it an offence to perform conversion practices on anyone aged under 18, or with impaired decision-making capacity, with a sentence of up to three years’ imprisonment. It also makes it an offence to perform conversion practices that cause “serious harm”, irrespective of age. That carries a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment.
The justice select committee received nearly 107,000 public submissions on the law – the highest number of public submissions received on a piece of legislation in New Zealand.
Speaking to the house, the deputy prime minister, Grant Robertson, said the law would right some of the wrongs caused by conversion practices.
See the full article published on 16 February in The Guardian article here.