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

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 22 September 2026.

MLA: Mr Paul Givan
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 22 September 2026
Type: Debate contribution (made as a minister)
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5741062

Text

I appreciate the Member's giving way. A parent may do something out of love, but this is where we may disagree on what loving your child means and whether it is to be affirming, not disapproving or, for some parents, disapproving. Will the Member confirm whether, if a child comes forward and has something to say, in the context of the Bill, about gender identity, for example, and the parent wants to have a conversation with the intention of changing what their child wants to be, the Bill is designed to capture that parent, given that that will cause distress? As the Member knows, when you parent children, there are times when the child gets distressed. If that parent seeks to change the gender identity that their child has presented to them and their doing so causes distress, that is caught within clause 8, "Psychological harm", and could lead to a two-year imprisonment. Can she confirm that that is what the Bill is designed to capture?

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

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