New Zealand’s parliament Tuesday passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, banning attempts to forcibly change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression through conversion therapy. The bill received 112 votes in favor and 8 votes in opposition in its third and final reading.
According to the bill, a conversion practice is defined as a practice, sustained effort or treatment that is directed towards someone because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression and done with the intention of changing or suppressing their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Under the new legislation, it will be an offence to perform conversion practices on a child or person younger than 18 years old or on someone with impaired decision-making ability. Such offences will be subject to up to 3 years imprisonment. It will also be an offence to perform conversion practices on anyone, irrespective of age, where the practices have caused serious harm, and offenders can be liable to up to 5 years of imprisonment.
Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi, in his statement, said that there is no place for conversion practices in modern New Zealand and also promised that general expressions of religious beliefs or principles about sexuality and gender will not be restricted.
Labour MP for East Coast Kiri Allan tweeted about her own experience with conversion practices: “At 16, I went through conversion therapy (it wasn’t called that, but that’s what it was) through my church. I desperately tried to ‘pray the gay’ away – to be accepted by my family, community and church. My ‘illness’ & ‘weakness’ to temptation was etched as sin into my skin.”
The Justice Select Committee received nearly 107,000 public submissions on the legislation, which is the highest number of public submissions ever for a piece of legislation in New Zealand. Justice Minister Faafoi said that legislation incorporated some of the public’s input, including changes to the definition of conversion practice to clearly describe the kinds of action that may fall under the prohibition.
The legislation also provides an option for civil redress, allowing victims to submit complaints about conversion practices to the Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal. It is expected to be launched in August 2022.
The government said that the Human Rights Commission would play an important role in providing education about conversion practices and also guide survivors on how to access the support that they might need. These civil provisions relating to the Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Review Tribunal will come into effect 6 months after Royal Assent, which every bill must receive before it becomes an act of parliament, while other parts of the legislation, including the criminal offences, come into effect immediately following Royal Assent.
