Conversion Practices

What are conversion practices?

Conversion practices are harmful methods that try to change or suppress your sexual orientation or gender identity. They don’t work and can cause serious, long-term harm.

LGBTQ+ Helpline

Our helpline team is trained to support anyone affected by conversion practices.

Whether you’re going through conversion practices, have experienced them before, or are worried it could happen, we’re here to support you.

Contact us

• Phone: 0800 464 7000
• Livechat: a red chat box will appear on bottom right of our website when we’re available
• Email: helpline@lgbthealth.org.uk

All ways of contacting us are free in the UK.

Opening hours

• Tuesdays: 12–9pm
• Wednesdays: 12–9pm
• Thursdays: 12–9pm
• Sundays: 1–6pm

If we can’t answer your call on Sundays, you can choose to connect to our friends Switchboard, a trusted LGBTQIA+ support line. Their volunteers offer the same warm, affirming and confidential support.

What do conversion practices look like?

Conversion practices can take many forms, which can make them hard to recognise.

If someone denies your identity, pressures you to change, or tries to suppress your sexual orientation or gender identity, that is a conversion practice. It is abusive and wrong.

Common forms of conversion practices

Conversion practices can happen in faith settings, community spaces, families, or professional environments. They may look like:

• Being prayed over or put through exorcisms
• Public shaming or humiliation
• Denial of food or forced “purification” rituals
• Ongoing pressure to hide or suppress your identity
• ‘Aversion therapy’ or other harmful treatments
• Physical or sexual abuse

These actions are harmful wherever they happen.

The impact of conversion practices

No one should be forced to change who they are.

Exploring your identity with someone you trust is healthy. Being pressured or coerced to change is not.

Being LGBTQ+ is not something that needs to be “fixed.” People who carry out these practices may believe they’re helping, but the impact can be deeply damaging:

• Damage to self-esteem and sense of identity
• Lasting effects on confidence and self-worth
• Feelings of isolation, shame, or confusion