Proposed conversion practices legislation ‘is too broad’

Proposed legislation to prohibit conversion practices in Scotland may criminalise legitimate behaviour unless a more precise approach is taken, according to the Law Society of Scotland.

The professional body for Scottish solicitors has made a written submission on the Scottish Government’s consultation paper on the proposal, with input from a number of Law Society committees covering public policy, criminal law, family law and human rights law.

The consultation has been launched to progress the Scottish Government’s 2022 commitment to introducing a Bill to end conversion practices, including those related to both sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Convener of the Law Society’s Public Policy Committee, John Mulholland, said: “We support this policy’s aims around conversion practices that cause harm and distress to people because of fundamental aspects of who they are, but believe this draft legislation is too broad.

“New laws, particularly criminal legislation, must be shown to be necessary and a fair and reasonable means of addressing a clearly identified problem. Such laws must be clear and meticulously drafted to ensure that innocent conduct is not criminalised.

“This proposed legislation currently does not meet these fundamental requirements, and significant refinement is needed so it doesn’t capture circumstances which should be beyond legal reproach. For example, we believe it could apply to common forms of therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy.

“We are supportive of the proposed approach to use a combination of criminal and civil measures to target harmful conversion practices, but believe the focus should be on using civil provisions in the first instance.”