Parliament backs bills to protect transgender people and ban conversion therapy

Two bills aimed at strengthening protections for transgender people and banning conversion therapy were passed in Parliament last week.

The legislation extends existing hate crime protections to include transgender identity and creates new offences relating to conversion therapy, meaning any attempt to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Minister for Equality, Christian Santos, said the changes would amend the Crimes Act 2011, which already provides enhanced penalties for offences motivated by hostility based on race, religious belief, disability, sexual orientation and age.

He said the Bill would add transgender identity to that framework, so offences motivated by hatred towards transgender people would attract the same protections afforded to other groups.

Mr Santos said the legislation would also extend offences relating to stirring up hatred to include transgender identity.

"The Bill aims to add the characteristic of transgender identity to this framework so that members of that group are also protected under the law and those committing crimes which are based on hatred towards members of the transgender community are punished more severely as they are when offences are committed based on hatred for other protected groups," he said.

The Bill also updates existing provisions covering conduct such as the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, publishing written material, public performances, recordings, broadcasts and possession of inflammatory material.

Mr Santos stressed that the legislation was not intended to restrict legitimate public debate and reiterated that a person must intend to stir up hatred of a particular group, or their conduct is likely to stir up hatred, to commit an offence.

"These provisions are not intended to stifle debate on delicate topics."

The Shadow Minister for Care, Atrish Sanchez, said the GSD supported the legislation.

"No one should live in fear because of who they are," she said.

"As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure that threats, violence, harassment and intimidation directed against any protected group are treated with the seriousness that they deserve."

"This Bill does that and for that reason, we welcome the Bill."

Mr Santos said transgender communities around the world were facing increasing hostility and that Gibraltar should ensure legal protections reflected that reality.

"We in Gibraltar cannot pretend this climate of fear is remote from us," he said.

"It is our duty to ensure that trans people are protected not only in word but in law."

"We have already made great strides in promoting human rights and inclusion but our legal framework will now and must now reflect the reality that trans people are disproportionately the targets of hate, harassment and violence."

CONVERSION THERAPY

Mr Santos also introduced legislation to ban conversion therapy and told Parliament that bodies including the British Psychological Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists consider all forms of conversion therapy to be unethical and potentially harmful.

"Conversion therapy begins from the preconceived view that a person's sexual orientation or gender identity should be changed," he said.

"Sexual orientations and gender identities are not mental health disorders and therefore it is unethical to offer a treatment or a cure for them."

The Bill makes it an offence to practise or offer to practise conversion therapy.

Ms Sanchez said the GSD supported this Bill, adding that such practices had been recognised internationally as harmful and without therapeutic benefit.

She said, however, that the Opposition had raised a number of observations intended to ensure the legislation was "clear, balanced and as effective as it can be".

Among the issues raised were whether the Bill should more clearly reflect that harmful practices could occur outside clinical settings, provide greater clarity on what constitutes conversion therapy and specifically address protections for minors and vulnerable adults.

Ms Sanchez said people remained entitled to hold and express moral, philosophical and religious beliefs, provided this was consistent with the Constitution and the rights and freedoms of others.

"But recognising those freedoms does not prevent this House from addressing harmful practises," she said.

"So the balance that must be struck is a careful one, and it can be achieved through clear legislative drafting."

In response, Mr Santos said he had considered all of the points raised by the Opposition and remained satisfied the legislation achieved the appropriate balance between protecting people from conversion therapy and respecting constitutional rights.

"I have taken all the points into account. I think there are very valid points but I feel what we have offered, as I said, doesn't narrow it but broadens the plan."