Campaigners demand gay “conversion therapy” is banned immediately as a Sunday People probe lifts the lid on the hateful practice.
In the Queen’s Speech the Government said it would outlaw the “treatment”, which tries to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
But experts are appalled by the likely delay in a ban and the possible loopholes a new law may leave for the practice to continue.
A letter from Boris Johnson to the Evangelical Alliance told church leaders “non-coercive” support for gay people – including praying over their sexuality – will escape a ban.
Crispin Blunt, of Parliament’s group on global LGBT rights, accused the PM of “breaching” the trust of LGBT people.
One campaigner said LGBT conversion therapy is comparable to torture because it leads to self-loathing and many people subjected to it consider killing themselves.
The practice has also been called ineffective, unethical, and potentially harmful by professional bodies.
We launched our investigation after three advisers quit the Government’s LGBT advisory panel in March.
They were frustrated by a lack of action to ban the practice. There were also claims ministers were “ignorant” about gay rights issues and had created a “hostile environment” for LGBT people.
Have you or someone you know gone been subjected to conversion therapy? If so email webnews@reachplc.com
(Image: Ian Vogler/Sunday Mirror)
Our reporter Daniel Harding, who is gay, posed as confused Joe Willis, seeking guidance after being secretly attracted to men all his life.
He had a video call with Matthew Grech, co-director of Christian fundamentalist charity Core Issues Trust, which claims to have helped people “overcome same-sex attraction” and, in some cases, “leave homosexuality behind”.
Ahead of the Zoom session, Grech told Joe men keen to reduce same-sex attraction “normally have to work on things like being more assertive, being less shy… and receiving male friendships in a healthy way”.
During the video call Grech, a contestant in 2018’s X Factor Malta, said: “I do have friends around me who say, ‘Matthew, I once identified as exclusively gay and now I am married and I have children and I completely overcame same-sex attraction’.”
Grech quizzed Joe about his childhood, relationships with his dad and male friends and asked if there was “a history of sexual abuse”.
He said: “I come from an understanding that is not based on ideology but on science – that nobody is born with same-sex relations. The majority of the influence lies in environmental factors.
“Our minds form patterns which can be changed to create new ways of thinking… so that we can take authority over our thoughts and train ourselves in a new way.
“Everyone who embarks on this journey will say to you at least that their same-sex attraction has decreased.”
When Joe asked why he is attracted to men, Grech replied: “I honestly think that you didn’t really fit what you perceived to be the stereotype in boys your age… I believe a misunderstanding took place that led to confusion.
“What that confusion does is it brings manipulation – it manipulates your desires.
“And then that manipulation causes frustration, causes irritation and it violates your relationship with other men.”
He said Joe would need to “go back to the root” of his feelings and deal with them but warned it is harder later in life once thoughts have “taken root”.
Asked how he could stop fancying men, Grech told Joe “master your body” and said: “We need to manage our hunger and thirst for connection in an appropriate way… and then work on seeing ourselves as equal to other men.”
Grech claimed some people might say Joe was “born that way, blah blah blah,” but said: “We just don’t listen to that stuff because they’re misguided”.
When Joe said he wanted marriage and children, Grech told him homosexuality “robs [gay people] of family as God intended family to be” and said there are “a lot of repercussions”.
When Joe asked if Grech thought he was gay, he replied: “No… what you feel is not who you are… If tomorrow I feel like I’m a woman, does that make me a woman?”
He claimed even the label “gay” is damaging as it “teaches people to make their feelings their identity”.
Core Issues Trust was still advertising this week. It’s website describes CIT as a “non-profit Christian ministry supporting men and women with homosexual issues who voluntarily seek change in sexual preference and expression” and states: “We’d love to hear from you and support your journey!”
In 2018, then Prime Minister Theresa May promised to end conversion therapy but before legislation is brought in there will be a consultation period to consider religious freedoms and how to protect accredited professionals.
Campaigners fear further delays will put more LGBT people at risk.
Nancy Kelley, head of LGBT charity Stonewall, said: “We don’t need a consultation to know all practices that seek to convert, suppress, cure or change us are dangerous, abusive and must be banned.
“Lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex and ace communities have been waiting almost three years for the UK Government to follow through on their promise to ban all conversion practices, and any delay leaves us at further risk of abuse.”
Jayne Ozanne, a founding member of the Archbishops’ Council charity, is gay and had a decade of conversion therapy that led to a mental breakdown.
She said: “Those who continue to practise conversion therapy inflict enormous harm by feeding off an individual’s internalised homophobia and shame.
“They undermine core family relationships by blaming them for a person’s “same-sex attraction”, stubbornly refusing to accept that our sexuality is something to be celebrated and true happiness can only be found when we embrace the truth about who we are. The damage to a person’s sense of self and dignity is immense.
“It is why it has been called torture, leading to a lifetime of self-loathing, which sadly leads many to contemplate suicide.”
She is “relieved” the Government plans to ban it but said: “I am deeply concerned that they may leave a legal loophole open for these harmful religious practices to continue.
“The Government’s failure to understand how damaging these religious practices are, and how young LGBT people of faith are groomed to agree to go through them, was one of the primary reasons I felt I had to resign from the Government’s LGBT advisory panel.”
She is director of the Ozanne Foundation which, in a 2019 survey, found that one in ten of 4,613 LGBT respondents had tried to change sexual orientation. Of these, over half had suffered mental health issues and a third attempted suicide.
Grech reached the judges’ houses stage of Malta’s X Factor, which was criticised for airing a pre-audition interview in which he claimed people of the same sex can be friends, but “everything else is a sin”.
After the Zoom session, Daniel, 34, said: “It felt like I was venturing into a cult. It’s atrocious and should be stopped immediately.
“I felt sad for Matthew, the information he shared and believed and for people who approach thinking they will be helped when in fact it will hinder them. I also felt anger at being told my feelings are mistaken.”
More than 370 senior figures from 35 nations, representing 10 religions, have signed a declaration calling for a global ban on conversion practices.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists backs a full legislative ban. A spokesman said the practice has no scientific basis and was shown to be harmful.
CIT founder Mike Davidson said it supports those “failed” by mental health services, claiming they “abandoned individuals in conflict over their sexuality, agreeing to offer gay-affirming therapies only.
“Banning therapeutic choice – the real purpose of ‘conversion therapy’ bans – is a violation of the basic human rights of belief and association.”
He also said a ban would restrict freedom of speech and reduce or impede religious freedoms.
‘I was made to feel like an abomination’
Gay Jayne Ozanne spent thousands of pounds and ten years on conversion therapy in her 30s after being made to feel “deeply ashamed” about her sexuality.
Now 52, she said: “You tell a religious leader you’re suffering from ‘same sex attraction’ they will come along and pray. Praying sounds benign. It is anything but.“
The ex-member of the Government’s LGBT advisory panel said: “People you trust will go through every aspect of your life to find any reason to explain why you’re not gay. You start praying more desperately and when you say it’s not working you are told you don’t have enough faith or you’re not praying enough.
“I was told I would have to be single and celibate for life. I was made to feel deeply ashamed, like an abomination.
“This led me to try and find more extreme healing in the UK and overseas – exorcisms or visiting deliverance ministries – those who feel they have a specific gift in this area. I found myself being sick, I’d be encouraged to cough up demons and look in the mirror and my eyes would pop.
“I remember one guy hitting me because they believed the devil was inside of me. You are never charged a fee – it is suggested you give what God is telling you to give. I gave thousands as I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Years of therapy took her to a “very dark place”, and in her late 30s Jayne was hospitalised after suffering a breakdown.
In 2009 she came out to family and fell in love with a woman. “It transformed me,” she said.
Now, she campaigns to ensure inclusion of all LGBT people of faith, particularly in churches, through the Ozanne Foundation and is part of the Ban Conversion Therapy coalition.
‘People would yell at me to release my demons’
One woman told how she hid her sexuality for 20 years and attempted suicide after undergoing conversion therapy, aged 17, in Berkshire.
Sam, 39, not her real name, became a Christian in her late teens, and recalls being told that homosexuality is a sin when she said she was gay.
She said: “Nobody called it conversion therapy – I was told someone would pray with me. I was told I’m not gay as God would never make people that way.
“Instead I was probably demon possessed and had childhood trauma that made me think I was gay and I needed to be set free. There was shouting, yelling at demons to release me and I was made to confess my sins, repent and apologise so God could forgive me.”
Sam went into denial about her sexuality and even married a man, but her mental health suffered and in 2009 she made an attempt on her life. She feels “huge relief after coming out last year”.
“My old church still offers this sort of thing and it makes me angry. Young people processing their sexuality need to be protected. It’s not gay rights verses Christian rights – it’s a human rights issue.”
(Image: Philip Coburn)
MPs call for fast action
Equalities Minister Liz Truss said that the Government has “always been committed” to ending conversion therapy.
Ms Truss said: “We want to make sure that people in this country are protected, and these proposals mean nobody will be subjected to coercive and abhorrent conversion therapy.
“Alongside this legislation, we will make new funding available to ensure that victims have better access to the support they need.” But Shadow Equalities Secretary Marsha de Cordova dismissed this as “yet another example of words but no action”. She accused the Government of failing to provide “specific legislation”.
She added: “Instead of yet another consultation we need to see concrete action to ban these despicable practices.
“Delay only causes further harm to LGBT+ people.”
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “Almost three years since ministers promised to ban conversion therapy, the Government is still dragging its feet, insisting we need another consultation before legislation in this week’s Queen’s Speech.
“What LGBT+ people need is change now.”
Stonewall – part of the Ban Conversion Therapy coalition – want a full Bill published now, with a clear timeline for its implementation.
