Debate contribution: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Mrs Deborah Erskine on .
- MLA
- Mrs Deborah Erskine
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 22 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5741336
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have not made light of any situation. What we are trying to get to is the core of clause 6, which is the fact — it is a fact because you have put it in your Bill — that "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" include what the victim considers that to be and what the person considers it to be. As we heard earlier from Members, that can be anything that anybody feels on any given day.
83 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.42 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Dog-whistle messaging (0.66).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.69).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.72).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The overall probability was low and the text did not adopt any identity-based framing.
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 | 0.15 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.25 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.66 | Yes |
| Controversy escalation | 0.22 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.69 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.42 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.72 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.08 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.20 |
| 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 16:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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