Ending conversion practices in Scotland: consultation

Closed 2 Apr 2024

Opened 9 Jan 2024

Feedback updated 7 Oct 2025

We asked

We sought views on proposals for legislative change to end conversion practices in Scotland. The term “conversion practices” is used to refer to acts which are intended to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The consultation opened on 9 January and closed on 2 April 2024, containing a total of 38 questions. 

The consultation document outlined our proposal to create a package of measures that work together to address conversion practices in Scotland. This included proposals for the introduction of new criminal offences for engaging in conversion practices and removing a person from Scotland for the purposes of conversion practices, a statutory aggravation for instances where the commission of an existing criminal offence was motivated by the intent to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and a civil protection order to protect people at risk of harmful conversion practices.

You said

In total, 5,811 responses to the consultation were available for analysis. 5,649 responses were from individual members of the public and 162 from groups or organisations.

Consultation responses have now been published on Citizen Space where permission was given to do so. Click here to read the published responses.

While we have endeavoured to publish all responses to the consultation in full where permission has been given to do so, responses have been moderated to remove any defamatory language and profanity, as well as to safeguard the identity of respondents or others. However, in order to maintain the integrity of responses and respondent views, some published responses contain language and opinions which may be considered offensive, discriminatory, or upsetting. These views do not represent those of the Scottish Government. We have addressed this in our official response and included content warnings to advise readers where necessary.

Due to the sensitivity of this topic and the high volume of responses, the Scottish Government appointed an independent external contractor to analyse consultation responses and provide a report of their findings.  Click here to read the full analysis report.

Analysts found that those who tended to not support the proposals were in the majority, albeit by a small margin.

Key concerns raised by respondents who were against proposals included:

  • Potential impacts on existing rights such as freedom of religion and the right to family and private life
  • Whether new legislation is required or if existing law is sufficient to address conversion practices
  • The belief that gender identity should not be included in legislation to end conversion practices  
  • The way different terms were defined in the draft legislation
  • The definition of psychological harm was considered to be too subjective  
  • Concerns that civil protection orders may be misused by people making false allegations against organisations or individuals they disagree with.

Feedback provided by respondents who were supportive of proposals included:

  • The necessity of this legislation to protect people from the harms of conversion practices
  • The importance of including protections for transgender people in any proposed legislation
  • Acknowledgement that harms associated with conversion practices are complex, and can sometimes take years to manifest which may be difficult to prove  
  • The importance of also considering non-legislative measures and preventative measures like civil protection orders.

We did

Consultation

Having reflected on the consultation feedback and discussions with stakeholders, we remain of the opinion that specific legislation is required to end conversion practices in Scotland as existing legislation does not offer sufficient protection against these harmful practices which are still taking place in Scotland today. 

We have carefully considered consultation responses and will continue to use the feedback we received from the consultation to further develop our proposals, including taking careful account of the concerns expressed about clarity of the proposals and impact on existing rights.

Click here to read the Scottish Government’s full response to the consultation analysis.

Next steps

As detailed in our 2024-2025 Programme for Government, published on 4 September 2024, we are engaging with the UK Government to explore the option of legislation to be brought forward to the UK Parliament being extended to Scotland. However, we are preparing legislation for introduction to the Scottish Parliament should a UK-wide approach not be achievable. By strengthening the support and services available to victims and survivors of conversion practices, we will ensure inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do.

We will also continue to develop and deliver non-legislative, supportive measures to end conversion practices and support survivors, with a focus on awareness raising and education. 

The Scottish Government thanks everyone who responded to the consultation, and those who met with us during the consultation period. Your input has been invaluable.

Useful links:

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

In the 2022-2023 Programme for Government (PfG), the Scottish Government reaffirmed its commitment to introduce a Bill on ending conversion practices in Scotland, including both sexual orientation and gender identity.

The UK Government committed in its 2018 LGBT Action Plan to end the practice of conversion therapy and published a consultation in October 2021. However, a Bill has not been included in the UK Government’s legislative programme 2023-2024.

The Expert Advisory Group on Ending Conversion practices (EAG) was set up in March 2022, to advise the Scottish Government on its approach to ending conversion practices. Its report was published in October 2022.

The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice (EHRCJ) Committee also published a report in January 2022. This report responded to Petition PE1817: “Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ban the provision or promotion of LGBT+ conversion therapy in Scotland”.

Policy context

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the rights of everyone in Scotland are respected, protected and fulfilled.

Conversion practices are harmful. They are promoted within an ideology that views LGBTQI+ identities as wrong and believes that they can be changed. This legislation aims to protect people from the harm of conversion practices.

Growing international momentum to tackle conversion practices 

Laws on conversion practices have been passed in: Malta, Ecuador, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium, Iceland, New Zealand, and Canada, as well as several states and territories in Australia, Mexico, and the USA. The Republic of Ireland has also committed to bringing forward legislation to ban conversion practices.

What are conversion practices?

There is no international, universal definition of the term “conversion practices”.

The Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Ending Conversion Practices’ defined conversion practices as “any treatment, practice or effort that aims to change, suppress and/or eliminate a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression".

Our specific proposal for defining conversion practices for the purposes of this legislation is set out in Part 4 of our full consultation document

Read our full consultation document

To see more detailed information about our proposals, we would encourage you to read our full consultation document

You can also view a summary version, and an easy read version of our consultation document.   

Why your views matter

Consultation is an essential part of the policy-making process. It gives the Scottish Government the opportunity to get public opinion and expertise on a proposed area of work. We value your views on this important issue. 

What happens next

The consultation was published on 9 January 2024 and closes at midnight on 2 April 2024. 

After the consultation is closed, we will publish responses, where we have been given permission to do so. The responses will be analysed, and used to help inform policy in this area. Analysis of the consultation will be published in due course.

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