Debate contribution: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mrs Diane Dodds on 15 September 2026.

MLA: Mrs Diane Dodds
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 15 September 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5706313

Text

I thank the Member for his intervention and for expanding the point, which is really important. I think that the Sinn Féin Member opposite, who is no longer in her seat, just wanted to shout the word "homophobia" and nothing else. That is a pity because I have tried my best to make my contribution to the debate with respect and kindness. Those are guidelines that I will rigidly stick to. Another piece of information that I read about the Bill comes from Stella O'Malley, who is a psychotherapist and the founder of Genspect, which is an international organisation that advocates a psychological approach to gender distress. She fears that the chilling effect of the legislation will lead to therapists shunning this important work because, while there are exemptions in clause 4 for certain health professionals and clauses that allow the Health Minister to expand those exemptions, there are no exemptions for psychotherapists or for those who engage in talking therapies with children and young people. She talked about the chilling effect of the legislation on her colleagues and the absolute importance of allowing distressed young people to have conversations around their identity and what is going on in their lives as they go through puberty. She posed some interesting questions for the debate to consider. She went on to say:
"A therapist working with a gender-distressed young person must be able to ask questions when the client is considering irreversible changes to a healthy body."
If young people are distressed and think that they are not in the right body, she is absolutely adamant that we must be able to ask them questions and ensure that they take everything into account as they talk about it. That is why she is worried about the chilling effect of the Bill. She said that you must be able to ask:
"Why do you want to change your body? When did this begin?".
She said that you must ask whether there is anything else happening in their life that could have led to those emotions, thoughts etc. She also said that you must ask:
"Could your distress have another explanation? Can we slow down? Have you tried less-invasive strategies?"
She concludes that such questions, which could catch therapists within the scope of the Bill and criminalise them, is not conversion therapy; it is conventional therapy, and talking is very important.

398 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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