The government has introduced a draft bill that aims to make it a crime to perform abusive acts intended to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

政府提出了一項法案草案，旨在將意圖改變個人性傾向或性別認同的虐待行為定為刑事犯罪。

The proposed Conversion Practices Bill aims to create a legal system to stop abusive acts that cause serious harm to a person's identity. The government emphasized that current laws on domestic abuse and coercive control are not enough to deal with these specific practices. Under the new law, there would be two main crimes: performing practices that cause serious harm or distress, and helping others do this outside of England and Wales. People found guilty could face unlimited fines and up to five years in prison. Furthermore, the bill introduces 'Protection Orders,' which are civil tools designed to protect people who are identified as being at risk.

擬議中的《轉向治療法案》旨在建立一套法律體系，以制止對個人認同造成嚴重傷害的虐待行為。政府強調，目前關於家庭暴力與強迫控制的法律不足以處理這些特定行為。在新法下，將會有兩項主要罪行：執行導致嚴重傷害或痛苦的行為，以及在英格蘭與威爾斯境外協助他人進行此類行為。被裁定有罪者可能面臨無限額罰金及最高五年的監禁。此外，法案引入了「保護令」，這是旨在保護被認定有風險人士的民事工具。

This legislation has been discussed since 2018, although the process was delayed by government changes. Some critics worried that the law might accidentally criminalize parents or professionals who have supportive conversations about gender distress. To solve this, the current draft includes exceptions for legitimate healthcare and therapy. This approach has been supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ensure that doctors and religious leaders are not unfairly restricted in their professional work.

這項立法自 2018 年起便已在討論，儘管過程因政府更替而有所延遲。部分批評者擔心，該法可能會不慎將與性別困擾進行支持性對話的家長或專業人士定為犯罪。為了解決此問題，目前的草案包含了合法醫療護理與治療的豁免。此做法得到了平等與人權委員會的支持，以確保醫生與宗教領袖在專業工作上不會受到不公平的限制。

Different groups have very different views on the bill. Advocacy organizations, such as Stonewall and Galop, assert that the bill is a necessary step for equality. They pointed to data showing 371 cases of conversion practices between 2022 and 2025, including physical violence. However, the Christian Legal Centre argues that the law would limit freedom of speech and prayer. They believe that existing laws are already enough to stop abuse and have stated that they plan to challenge the ban in court.

不同團體對該法案持有截然不同的看法。如 Stonewall 和 Galop 等倡議組織主張，該法案是邁向平等的必要步驟。他們指出數據顯示，在 2022 年至 2025 年間共有 371 起轉向治療案例，其中包括身體暴力。然而，基督教法律中心則認為該法將限制言論與禱告自由。他們相信現有法律已足以制止虐待，並表示計劃在法院對此禁令提出挑戰。

The draft bill will now be reviewed for three months before it is voted on by the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

該草案現在將經過三個月的審查，隨後由下議院與上議院進行投票。