The Guild should demonstrate their support of LGBTQ+ students through a policy that condemns all forms of conversion therapy, inclusive of trans conversion therapy, and commits to supporting and campaigning for Birmingham students impacted by this. The Guild should also raise awareness of the impact the conversion therapy ban may have on Birmingham students and share relevant resources and information on this topic.
Conversion therapy involves trying to stop or suppress someone from being LGBTQ+. Plans to ban conversion therapy in the UK have been repeatedly delayed over 5 years, and there are doubts as to whether future bills will include protections against conversion therapy for trans and non-binary people, a group disproportionately affected by the practice, with 13% of trans people having been offered/undergone conversion therapy.
As a Students’ union, we should call for the next UK government to support a legislative ban which makes conversion therapy illegal wherever it occurs and whoever is targeted in order to protect and support LGBTQ+ students at the University of Birmingham. The Guild should push for NUS to work towards a ban, support student campaigns, and push students to act.
The Guild is committed to being a safe space for LGBTQ+ students who may be facing discrimination, and this will be done through the Zero Tolerance Policy.