The overturn of Roe v. Wade has many LGBTQ+ people fearful that the freedoms and rights their community fought for (and continues to fight for) could be the next to fall victim to a growing wave of ultra conservatism.

In the UK one of the most telling signs is the government's lacklustre handling of a proposed ban on ‘Conversion Therapy’ - the abhorrent practice of attempting to change, suppress or ‘cure’ someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. You can’t ‘cure’ someone of being LGBTQ+, but ‘Conversion Therapy’ seeks to do just that and uses loopholes in UK law to do it.

Our work for a collection of LGBTQ+ charities, explicitly calls out this injustice. Bringing to life the abuse, coercion and psychological harm caused by ‘Conversion Therapy’ and acting as a lighting rod to rally support, influence politicians and open the door with policy makers who have the power

Two-thirds of Britons (65%) say conversion therapy where people seek to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity should be banned (YouGov). The objective of our campaign wasn’t just to gather support from the public, it was to sway the opinions of those capable of ensuring a ban passes - a smaller more influential group of politicians and policy makers, who saw coming out in support of a Trans inclusive conversion therapy ban as not being aligned with their progression of their political careers. The LGBTQ+ charities and campaigners working on securing a ban were relying on 'talking head’ interviews with conversion therapy survivors during their lobbying efforts, which were not making the impact needed to cut through with this smaller and influential audience. A more emotionally led approach was needed, that moved from documenting conversion therapy to dramatising it.

‘Conversion therapy’ has been banned in countries around the world, but remains legal in the UK. It’s been offered to 7% of the UK’s LGBTQ+ population in medical, psychological and religious settings. In 2018, the UK Government first promised to ban it and in 2022 offered to make good on this promise, if ‘treatment’ for gender identity was removed from the proposed ban (essentially providing no protection for Trans people).

Around the world there’s been a significant rise in transphobic media coverage and political rhetoric - so much so that straightforward legislation like a ban on ‘Conversion Therapy’ which protects all members of the LGBTQ+ community faces fierce opposition in a way that it wouldn’t have done 5 years ago.

Our idea was to reframe ‘conversion therapy’ as abuse. Of the UN’s fifteen point definition of emotional and psychological abuse, conversion therapy ticked all of them. We took survivor stories and brought them to life in an immersive exhibition near Westminster, the heart of UK politics. We exposed the abusive practice in a social campaign encouraging members of the public to email their MP’s, and embedded a tool in our website which made it easy to contact them. Finally, we turned the survivor stories into a film that brought to life the oppression, power struggles and the psychological damage caused by trying to ‘cure’ someone of being LGBTQ+. Set to a heartbreaking reimagining of “It’s A Sin”, by the Pet shop Boys. We exposed an issue that has been haunting LGBTQ+ people for generations, ignored by the media and politicised by the government in the only campaign of its kind.

Working with LGBTQ+ charities, we received intel that the government was providing an update on a ban early 2023. We planned the campaign in advance so it was ready to launch when the topic was top of political and public consciousness.

At the core of our approach was a powerful film, based on first hand interviews with survivors, that a coalition of 21 LGBTQ+ organisations used as a lobbying tool amongst MPs, and at an exhibition near Westminster that brought the shocking stories to life. This was supported by a social and display campaign amplified by celebrity allies such as Tom Daley, which encouraged the public to put pressure on their local MP’s to support a ban.

Our planning paid off, and we were able to launch the week the government announced it was reconsidering a ban, with our work being used to reach an audience of 650 MPs.

An all LGBT+ team, supported by allies, used survivors' testimony to create a first of its kind film depicting the horror of a young trans woman being subjected to ‘conversion therapy’ by her family. Our goal was to make the 650 MP’s with the power to ban the practice, feel the power struggles, the coercion and the psychological damage caused by trying to ‘cure’ someone of being LGBTQ+. We wanted to reflect the horror of the fact that this practice is happening right under our noses in our neighbourhoods and communities. We then took these shocking survivor stories and told them in an immersive exhibition near Westminster, supported by a powerful social campaign that shone a light on the abuse.

The UK government has committed to introducing a ban later this year (2023)

At the date of this submission, 56,536 people have written to their local MPs through the online tool hosted on banconversiontherapynow.com to demand a ban.

Nearly 1 million people viewed the digital campaign assets over a two week period, with a media plan built entirely with donated inventory.

The number of clicks were nearly double than we’d expect from this type of campaign, showing strong resonance with the message audience.

Celebrity allies such as Tom Daley and Jade Thrilwall shared the campaign on their own channels to amplify the message and encourage their followers to write to their MPs

‘Conversion therapy’ is the attempt to change, suppress or ‘cure’ someone from being LGBTQ+. It has been banned in many countries and draws more attention in the USA (with an industry of ‘camps’ and ‘counselling’). But in the UK, it happens behind closed doors. 7% of LGBT people in the UK having been offered or undergone it - in medical, psychological and religious settings. In 2018, the UK Government promised to ban ‘conversion therapy’. In 2023 there is still no ban.