Scottish Government 'running scared' of LGBT conversion therapy ban
On Friday, ministers revealed that criminalising conversion practices, interventions that would seek to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, are no longer on the government's immediate agenda.
Instead, the Scottish Government has said it will 'work' with the UK Government on legislation taking a four-nations approach. If this is unsuccessful, ministers said they will publish a Scottish bill in the first term of the next parliament, after the Holyrood 2026 elections.
READ MORE: Why has the Scottish Government dropped LGBT+ conversion therapy ban?
Blair Anderson, from the End Conversion Therapy Scotland campaign, accused the Scottish Government of 'running down the clock' on the issue.
'The announcement from Friday was confirmation of what we have suspected for a long time, that this obviously isn't a priority for the Scottish Government, they're running scared of the issue,' he told The National.
'They just don't want to talk about sex and gender because of the situation [with] the Supreme Court, which has put them in a very difficult position.
'Rather than having to choose between two sides, they've decided to just not have the debate at all, frankly.'
Anderson previously told The National about his personal experiences with conversion practices, and how vital a ban would be.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that under the Equality Act 2010, a woman is defined by 'biological sex', excluding transgender people with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
The ruling has had a significant fallout, and the Scottish Government cited it as one of the reasons it had dropped plans to criminalise misogyny.
The consultation phase of plans for a conversion therapy ban was concluded in January 2024, with legislation expected to follow soon after. However, Anderson, who is also a Scottish Greens councillor in Glasgow, said ministers could have banned conversion practices 'literally years ago' but there is now an 'absence of political will'.
(Image: Blair Anderson) 'With the Supreme Court, the EHRC toilet guidance and everything else, I don't see a universe where the SNP starts talking about sex and gender any time soon,' he said.
Anderson (above) added that while he understood the Scottish Government said they wanted to take time to get the details right, they took so long that they have now 'lost control of events'.
He pointed to the debate around the Gender Recognition Reforms (GRR), the Westminster Tories blocking the legislation which would have allowed transgender people to self-identify as their acquired gender, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.
'It's just very frustrating from the Scottish Government perspective, by acknowledging that they can go their own way with this bill but are choosing to hand power over this decision to Westminster totally flies in the face of what should be the Scottish Government's constitutional approach to this argument,' Anderson said.
'It's just not true to say that they are particularly animated by a securing uniform approach across the four nations, that is entirely secondary to them wanting to not have to stand up in parliament and take a side between LGBT rights and people who oppose them.
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'And I get why, for political reasons, but ultimately, it's LGBT people who suffer from that.'
The UK Labour Government put forward plans for a conversion therapy ban in the 2024 King's Speech, but no solid plans have emerged.
Anderson said the latest move was 'demoralising' and that his campaign's next move would be to push for parties to commit to banning conversion therapy in their Holyrood 2026 manifestos.
He added: 'Every single day between now and then, LGBT people will be subjected to conversion therapy in Scotland, completely avoidable because of political cowardice of being too afraid to just stand up and see what a few years ago would have been an almost absolute position.
'We shouldn't be subjecting people to this harmful, pseudo-scientific, ineffective practice just because of sexuality or gender identity.
(Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) 'A few years ago you would have struggled to find a politician who isn't prepared to stand up and make that statement, and now you would struggle to find a cabinet member who would, and who would be able to stick to the guns on that and say, as a result, we should do this sooner rather than later.'
Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart (above, right) said the Scottish Government 'remains absolute' in its commitment to ending conversion practices.
'We will continue to work with the UK government on legislation extending to Scotland, that applies across all settings and protects all ages, is trans-inclusive and does not include any exemption for consent,' she said.
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