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

Debate contribution by Ms Sian Mulholland on 22 September 2026.

MLA: Ms Sian Mulholland
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 22 September 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5741095

Text

Having a therapeutic conversation that is about exploration — not telling, threatening or degrading someone — does not meet the definition of "coercive behaviour". Again, that is in the Bill. I fundamentally disagree with the assertions that you are making. I will move on. It is 8.15 pm, and I would like to hear from other Members. I want us to get to hear from both the Minister and the Bill sponsor and hopefully tonight. There are Christians in Churches across Northern Ireland who do not believe that protecting people from coercion and harm somehow threatens their faith — we have established that — but we should not overlook LGBTQIA+ people of faith. They belong to our Churches and our communities too, and their right to worship, belong and seek spiritual support without coercion or abuse matters every bit as much.
Parents, people of faith and young people deserve an honest account of what the Bill does. That means reading it as a whole. The Bill is a package. Its provisions on intention, harm, coercive behaviour, therapy, religious expression, professional practice and available defences have to be read together. It is not serious legislative scrutiny to lift one phrase or one clause, removing all the tests and safeguards around it, and present it as the most alarming hypothetical imaginable, as though that is what the Bill states. We should not cherry-pick legislation to manufacture faux outrage, and some of it has been manufactured. Prayer does not suddenly become a criminal offence because sexuality is discussed. Parenting does not suddenly become a criminal offence because a parent has asked difficult questions or set boundaries. Ordinary religious belief is not being criminalised. The Bill is aimed at harmful practices that are intended to change or suppress another person's identity. Of course the details should be scrutinised; that is exactly what Committee Stage is for. If there are genuine concerns about drafting, conversation and compromise are required. As the Bill sponsor has said, we can test those concerns. If wording can be improved, we can improve it. If protections need to be clearer, we can make them clearer. There is a fundamental difference between improving legislation and frightening people about legislation. We fall short of our responsibilities as legislators if we immediately reach for scaremongering, and that is exactly what has happened in some instances, be that on social media or radio shows, instead —
— of engaging seriously with the purpose and substance of the Bill. If Members identify a problem, they should tell us what it is and propose a solution. Do not frighten parents into believing that they need a KC at the kitchen table. Do not frighten Christians into believing that their faith is under attack. Above all else, do not make LGBTQIA+ people who are listening to the debate believe that their protection and their family's faith must somehow be in conflict.
I am just finishing up. Throughout our scrutiny of the Bill, those impacted on by such practices must remain at the heart of our thinking. I go back to what my colleague said at the very beginning and to the reason that we introduced the legislation. When someone has found the courage to tell people that they have been harmed, our response should demonstrate that we have listened. The careful legislative work comes next. This is a debate on the principles of the Bill, not clause-by-clause scrutiny, which is a further legislative step. As I said, I am proud to support the principle that people should be protected from harmful attempts to change or suppress who they are: I am, and I do.
The Bill gives us an opportunity to build a Northern Ireland in which people feel free to practise their faith but also seek genuine support and live free from coercion and harm. It tells every LGBT person, particularly every young person, that their dignity matters, that their well-being matters and that their life has value. I am clear about what side I want to be on, and I am clear about what side my Jesus calls me to be on: that is the side of people who have been harmed and pushed to the margins, and that is the side that I put forward today. I am very proud and pleased to support the Bill.

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

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