Current Campaign: Corrective Rape
One of the most brutal forms of so-called ‘conversion’ therapy is the practice of ‘corrective rape.’ Also known as ‘curative rape’, this is a hate crime in which one or more people are raped because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The common intended consequence of the rape, as seen by the perpetrator, is to ‘turn’ the person heterosexual or to enforce conformity with gender stereotypes. In the U.K., corrective rape has not been part of the dialogue in terms of ending conversion therapy, and we want to make sure that it is. Want to read about our plans? See more information here
Our aim is to contribute to the ongoing efforts to lobby the UK government and contribute to the pressure put on the UK government to ban conversion therapy. In 2018, it was announced that conversion therapies were to be banned. However, they have failed to uphold their promise and more than 1000 days later LGBT people in U.K. continue to suffer from this abusive practice.
What have we done so far:
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February 2021: we have joined the BCT (Ban Conversion Therapy) Coalition – a group of LGBTQI+, faith communities, organisations and mental health practitioners united in calling on the U.K. government to commit to a full legislative ban.
Our next steps:
We are currently collaborating with members of the BCT coalition to identify how we can best contribute to the ongoing efforts to ban conversion therapy, while focusing on corrective rape – one of the most dehuminising methods of conversion therapy.
We are collaborating with our Events Officers to plan and deliver an online event aimed to raise awareness of the issue of corrective rape and galvanise as many people as possible to get behind the BCT Campaign and contribute to the pressure put on the government.
How can you get involved?
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Keep an eye on our website and social media to see our progress and join our actions to call;
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Write to your MP to ban conversion therapy now. Find guidance and other resources, as well stories from those who have experienced conversion therapy here.
More details will appear on this page soon. If you would like to hear about this first, please sign up to our newsletter here to receive further information.