Sydney, Australia, Mar 22 (EFE).- Australia’s state of New South Wales banned LGBT+ conversion practices on Friday, with parliament ing a bill after an all-night sitting.
The banning of the practices, which includes conversion therapy, in the most populous state in the country follows in the footsteps of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and neighboring New Zealand.
“Conversion practices have no place in NSW. So we banned it,” NSW Premier Chris Minns wrote on X, celebrating the ing of the bill by 22 votes in favor and four against.
Under this new law, practices aimed at changing or suppressing people’s sexual orientation or gender identity will be criminalized in NSW, where the capital Sydney annually hosts its famous mardi gras.
“This law will save countless people from a lifetime of pain and in some cases save lives. It sends a powerful message that we are whole and valid, just as we are,” Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said in a statement.
It will also be considered an offense to transport a person out of the state to force them to undergo conversion therapy.
The law against these practices, which range from ongoing or sustained pressure from a church or religious figure to suppress one’s sexuality, to religious rituals such as exorcisms and psychiatric or psychological “treatments” and aversion tactics, carries a penalty of up to five years in jail.
Attorney General Michael Daley said the new law strikes the right balance with legitimate religious and cultural practices as it “contains important exclusions that make it clear that general conversations around religious beliefs, or how religious beliefs might be reflected in a person’s life, are not conversion practices.”
“This includes personal prayer or seeking spiritual guidance, the teachings of a religious leader or expression of a religious belief through sermon. Similarly, conversations between parents and children, with siblings and the wider family and even friends, are not covered by this new law.”
“Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with people from the LGBTQ+ community – they are fine just the way they are,” he said.
The states of Tasmania and South Australia are also considering reforms, while Queensland prohibits conversion practices in health settings, according to Equality Australia. EFE
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