The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill is a proposed Act of Parliament in New Zealand that proposes banning conversion therapy practices that seek to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Legislative features
Definitions
The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill defines conversion practice as a practice that is directed "towards a person because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;" and is "performed with the intention of changing or suppressing the individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression."
Clause Five of the Bill states that conversion practice does not include:
a health service provided by a health practitioner in accordance with the practitioner's scope of practice;
assisting an individual who is undergoing, or considering undergoing, a gender transition;
assisting an individual to express their gender identity;
providing acceptance, support, or understanding of an individual;
facilitating an individual's coping skills, development, or identity exploration, or facilitating social support for the individual; and
the expression only of a religious principle or belief made to an individual that is not intended to change or suppress the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Offences and legal redress
The Bill introduces two new offences:
Clause 8 makes it an offense for a person, knowingly or recklessly, to perform conversion practice on a person under the age of 18 years or lacking decision-making capacity.
Offenders face a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years.
Clause 9 makes it an offense for a person, knowingly or recklessly, to perform conversion practice that causes serious harm to the individual.
Offenders face a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
The Bill's Clause 10 states that it is not a defence to the offences outlined in Clauses 8 and 9 that the individual on whom the conversion practice was performed consented to that practice, or that the person charged believed that such consent was given.
Clause 12 states that no prosecution for any offence under Clauses 8 or 9 can be carried out without the approval of the Attorney General.
Clause 13 allows for civil redress where a person files a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993.
Amendments
The Bill amends the Human Rights Act 1993 to insert Section 63A which makes it unlawful to perform a conversion practice on any person or to arrange for a conversion practice to be performed on any person.
History
Background
In August 2018, Minister of Justice Andrew Little proposed that a conversion therapy ban could be considered as part of a reform to the Human Rights Act 1993.
After this plan was voted down by coalition partners New Zealand First, the governing Labour Party announced in October 2020 it would definitively ban the practise if re-elected.
First reading
In 30 July 2021, Minister of Justice and Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Kris Faafoi introduced the proposed Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill into the New Zealand Parliament.
On 5 August 2021, the Bill received its first reading in Parliament.
The Labour, Green, ACT, and Māori parties supported the bill but the National Party opposed it on the grounds that it lacked provisions protecting parents from prosecution.
National had previously supported banning conversion therapy.
In April 2021, party leader Judith Collins had pledged National's support for the ban after consulting the party's youth wing Young Nats and googling conversion therapy.
Supporters of the Bill including Faafoi, Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick, Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall, Labour MP Marja Lubeck, Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere, Labour MP Glen Bennett, and Labour MP Shanan Halbert described conversion therapy as pseudoscientific and harmful towards the LGBT community.
Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi claimed that conversion therapy was associated with European colonisation and ideas about gender and sexuality that were alien to Māori people.
While supporting the goals of the legislation in addressing harm towards LGBTQI communities, ACT MP Nicole McKee expressed concerns that the law would also penalise parents and religious communities.
Opponents of the Bill including National's justice spokesperson Simon Bridges, Chris Penk, and Barbara Kuriger supported the intentions of the legislation but expressed concerns about penalising parents and its allegedly vague language.
Bridges also claimed that several young people overseas including Keira Bell expressed regret about transitioning genders.
The Bill passed its first reading on 5 August by a margin of 87 to 33 votes, and proceeded to the Justice select committee.
Responses
Support
The Salvation Army's Territorial Governance Board for New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa has opposed a range of conversion therapy practices including prayers on the basis that these constitute "vilification or discrimination on the grounds of sexuality and gender."
In late July 2021, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, a confidence and supply partner of the incumbent Labour Party, welcomed Faafoi's Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill.
The party's Rainbow Communities spokesperson Elizabeth Kerekere praised the Government for listening to the rainbow community's pleas that conversion therapy was a crime.
Kereke claimed that a majority supported banning conversion therapy, citing a 156,764-strong petition sponsored by the Greens calling for the practice to be banned.
Victoria University of Wellington law academic Dr. Eddie Clark defended the bill, arguing that exempting parents from prosecution would defeat the purpose of the bill to address the harm caused by conversion therapy to LGBT individuals.
Clark also asserted that the bill did not target religious beliefs about LGBTQ people but rather "harmful" religious conversion therapy practices.
Shaneel Lal, co-founder of the Conversion Therapy Action Group, welcomed the proposed Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation bill but expressed concern that it would neither help survivors or allow offenders to be persecuted.
Lal disagreed with the National Party's assertion that the bill would criminalise parents for advising their children against taking puberty blockers; arguing instead that the bill banned parents from forcibly stopping their children from taking puberty blockers with the intention of suppressing their chose gender identity or expression.
Lal disagreed with the bill giving the Attorney-General the sole discretion to prosecute cases of conversion therapy, claiming that it could be use by anti-LGBT forces to deny the rights of LGBT peoples.
Opposition
The conservative Christian advocacy group Family First New Zealand claimed that a ban on conversion therapy would criminalise parents wanting to parents protect their child from the "physical, emotional, and psychological harm" caused by gender dysphoria.
Family First also objected to a five year prison term for parents for affirming gender identities that correspond to their children's biological sexes.
The group also claimed that the Government "wanted to criminalise the discussion and practice of alternatives to hormones, surgery and confusion."
The left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury criticised the proposed Conversion Practices Prohubition Legislation bill's five year prison term as form of "government overreach" which distracted from the Government's failure to address what he regarded as their failed mental health, poverty and housing policies.
Dr. Stuart Lange of the New Zealand Christian Network criticised the proposed bill, claiming that it denied people the freedom to seek and receive what support they desired, discriminated against people unsure about changing their sex or identity away from their biological sex, and compromised religious freedom.
He proposed that the legislation include a clause protecting discussions, advice, guidance or prayer regarding sexuality and gender by parents, family members, friends, counsellors, religious leaders, or health professionals when such advice was "respectful and non-coercive."
The Pentecostal denomination ARISE Church supported the Bill's intents at banning harmful practices but expressed concern that it criminalised parents, counselors and pastors seeking to help children and young people dealing with sexuality or gender issues if the intention even with the consent of the individual.
National Party internal debate
The center-right National Party's parliamentary caucus opposition to the Bill was criticised by Young Nats President Stephanie-Anne Ross.
The Young Nats have supported a ban on conversion therapy and stated that differences should be resolved at the select committee level.
In late August 2021, National MP Chris Bishop was stripped of his Shadow Leader of the House role by party leader Judith Collins officially so that he could focus on his COVID-19 response spokesperson role.
However, The New Zealand Herald and Stuff journalists Thomas Coughlan and Henry Cooke claimed that this demotion was the result of Bishop's disagreement with the Party's stance on banning conversion therapy and for advocating a conscience vote on the bill.
On 30 August, Collins denied losing her temper at Bishop and fellow National MP Erica Stanford for publicly suggesting that they disagreed with the Party's stance on the legislation.
Notes and references
