Debate contribution: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- 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 5707282
Read the official Assembly record
Text
There may well be genders out there that, the vast majority of people in this country think, are unreasonable. That is why the unreasonableness test or the "reasonable persons" test in this regard is highly problematic. It is not what the reasonable person thinks; it may be someone who is suffering in fear, alarm and distress. The Bill sponsor does not have to answer immediately — he can research his Bill — but does that include heterosexual persons? Does that mean that, if someone tries to suppress that person's heterosexual gender identity, provides drugs to teenagers who are confused or performs irreversible surgery on young adults, that is seen by some reasonable people as coercive, abusive and degrading? Does it work both ways? If a parent bullies their children into being something different, does the Bill capture that parent? I would be really interested to know. That is how it is defined. It is what the victim considers it to be and what the person considers it to be, so how do you know if you are suppressing somebody's gender identity or sexual orientation if you do not know what their sexual orientation or gender identity is? There is no defence for that. There is no defence of ignorance in that regard. We talked about the heterosexual person, but what about the xenogender? What if someone came home and told their parents that they wanted to be identified as an animal, nature, a colour, an object, a fictional or abstract concept or a particular sensation or emotion? I see people smirking, but there are people in our society who live in fear, distress or alarm because they have those tendencies.
280 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Uncertain: close call Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues
Uncertain: this record is published but not counted in any total.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.74 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Dog-whistle messaging (0.90).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.49).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The answers did not meet either automatic threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.32 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.42 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.90 | Yes |
| Controversy escalation | 0.56 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.52 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.74 | Above flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.36 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.14 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.49 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.