(Guardian) – Religious schools and organizations are fighting a move by the Queensland government to make LGBT-related conversion therapy a crime in the state. In late November, the Queensland government introduced legislation that would, among other amendments to health legislation, make the practice of conversion therapy to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity punishable by up to 18 months in jail.
The examples provided in the legislation include aversion therapy, psychoanalysis or hypnotherapy with the aim of changing or suppressing a person’s sexuality, but it also extends to counseling and group activities.
The legislation – which followed a 2018 Human Rights Law Centre review into conversion therapy practices in Australia – has the strong support of medical bodies, such as the Australian Psychological Society, and human rights organizations, such as the Queensland Human Rights Commission. Christian organizations and schools, however, have expressed concerns that the legislation might prevent them from being able to counsel people on sexuality and gender-based on their interpretation of Christianity. READ MORE
