Amnesty International Australia congratulates the Victorian Parliament’s lower house for passing a world-leading bill to end harmful LGBTQA+ conversion practices*.
The legislation was developed after extensive consultation with survivors of conversion practices and represents the gold standard in addressing these harmful and totally unnecessary practices.
“What this Bill recognises is that there is nothing wrong that needs correcting if someone identifies as part of the LGBTQA+ community,” Amnesty International Australia activist Fin Spalding said.
“It goes an enormous way to acknowledging the rights of LGBTQA+ people to be who they are, and it’s a happy coincidence that it has been brought into law on International Human Rights Day.
“Other jurisdictions should look to the Victorian example and consult with survivors to draft similarly robust legislation and protect rights for everyone around Australia.”
Attention now turns to Victoria’s Legislative Council which needs to pass the bill in order for it to become law. It is likely to be debated in February 2021.
“All sides of the parliament need to come together to take the final step and make this world leading bill, world leading law,” said Spalding.
“This is an open invitation: if there are any politicians remaining that need to hear about why this bill is so important, alongside survivors, we’re happy to have that discussion”.
* survivors do not use the term ‘conversion therapy’, as what they have endured is not evidence based and is in no way therapeutic.
