Banning Transgender Conversion Practices

Book excerpt: Survivors of conversion practices – interventions meant to stop gender transition – have likened these to torture. In the last decade, bans on these deeply unethical and harmful processes have proliferated, and governments across the world are considering following suit. Banning Transgender Conversion Practices considers pivotal questions for anyone studying or working to prevent these harmful interventions. What is the scope of the bans? How do they differ across jurisdictions? What are the advantages and disadvantages of legislative approaches to regulating trans conversion therapy? How can we improve these prohibitions? Florence Ashley answers these questions and demonstrates the need for affirmative health care cultures and detailed laws that clearly communicate which practices are banned. Banning Transgender Conversion Practices centres trans realities to rethink and push forward the legal regulation of conversion therapy, culminating in a carefully annotated model law that offers detailed guidance for legislatures and policymakers.