It’s been eight years since UK announced plan to end conversion therapy – here’s where we are

On International Day to End Conversion Therapy (7 January) it’s important to recognise that there is a long way to go before the abhorrent practice is banned globally. 

Conversion therapy incorporates abusive practices and refers to attempts by anti-LGBTQ+ groups or individuals to forcibly change the sexuality or gender identity of an individual.

In the UK, the Tories first promised a conversion therapy ban in 2018 during Theresa May’s tenure as prime minister, but Boris Johnson later opted to push ahead with a ban that only covered lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

In January 2024, Labour’s Keir Starmer pledged to bring in a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy if Labour won the general election. 

Following its election, the Labour government introduced a draft bill for a full, trans-inclusive ban, as announced in the 2024 King’s Speech. However, as of 2026, there is still no ban on conversion therapy in the UK. 

‘We cannot wait any longer’

Simon Blake, OBE, Stonewall’s chief executive, told PinkNews: “Most people think conversion practices are a thing of the past. The unacceptable fact is these abusive practices are taking place in 2026. In 2024 The Trevor Project found that nearly 1 in 6 LGBTQ+ young people in the UK reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion practices.  Thousands of young people growing up being told who they are is wrong because of their sexual orientation and or gender identity. 

“Every single day of delay in changing the law sends a strong message that they are not good enough.

“Despite many years of assurances from four different Prime Ministers, the legislation to make conversion practices illegal has still not been published. We cannot wait any longer. The LGBTQ+ community needs to know that this abuse will end and that LGBTQ+ people are equally respected and as valued as everybody else in the UK.”

‘Every day without a ban is a day where harm is quietly permitted’

Saba Ali, chair of the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition, told PinkNews: “Conversion practices may change shape, but the lie behind them persists, the notion that LGBTQ+ people need fixing. That belief wounds, diminishes, and destroys individuals. After eight years of promises and postponed protections, it’s clear that government hesitation is not neutral; it is dangerous.

“Every day without a ban is a day where harm is quietly permitted. We need a decisive, inclusive law that ends this abuse once and for all, a law that makes unmistakably clear that our identities were never errors, and our lives never needed correcting. The moment for action has long since passed; the Government must act now and ban these abhorrent practices.”

Elsewhere in the world, conversion therapy remains legal in 160 countries – a number far greater than it is banned in – according to Equaldex. 

In Europe, the practice remains legal in Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Turkey and Austria, to name a few. 

In Asia it remains legal in places such as Malaysia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, while in North America it remains legal in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Saint Lucia. 

Although more than 20 states have banned conversion therapy in the US, there is still no federal ban. 

In Africa, there are 53 countries in Africa that still legalise conversion therapy. 

There is still a long way to go before conversion therapy is banned worldwide. 

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