Conversion therapy still legal in WA despite promises to ban it, drawing concerns for the LGBTQIA+ community
It has been more than a year since the WA government promised to outlaw conversion therapy. But the practice, often led by religious organisations, remains legal.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 Tiger Bird wears the rainbow flag in their hometown with pride.
00:07 I officially came out probably when I left Albany, because you just, just no one came out in Albany.
00:13 Tiger is back in Albany after moving to Perth before coming out.
00:17 Hate speech on social media and pride banners going missing here are seen as evidence of homophobia.
00:24 And Tiger still feels the effects of a conversion therapy roadshow held here a few years ago.
00:30 It just became this really big thing and it was sort of like, you know, we had protests
00:37 and there was lots of people who went to these protests, but there was just as many people who were
00:41 for this weird sort of conversion therapy roadshow.
00:46 Conversion therapy is based on the idea sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed
00:52 through practices ranging from psychiatric treatments to spiritual intervention.
00:58 The WA government promised to ban it in 2022, but it remains legal in this state.
01:04 Well, we continue to look at how we can legislate to make sure that gay conversion therapies
01:09 practices are outlawed in Western Australia.
01:12 It's very difficult to define in a statutory sense because you have to actually define
01:16 what a therapeutic activity is.
01:18 Despite that statutory difficulty, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT have passed legislation
01:24 banning conversion practices.
01:26 The fact that it's still not illegal astounds me, astounds me.
01:31 The issue will be a big topic at Albany's Pride Festival this month.
01:35 Got lots of drag stuff as well because that's always popular, a few sporting events and
01:41 of course a good old party as well.
01:43 Tiger and their friends will be using the celebration to urge the government to follow
01:47 the example set in other jurisdictions.
01:49 restrictions.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]