Debate contribution: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Ms Diane Forsythe on .
- MLA
- Ms Diane Forsythe
- 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 5741675
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for his intervention. I agree with him about the chilling effect. Many people made light of my colleague Peter Martin's contribution to the debate last week, but it was totally fair and made completely with good intentions to show how much overreach there is. My colleague Mr Givan also talked about this: as a parent of teenage girls, I see the stress that is on display throughout so many activities in their lives. You try to guide and parent them through their lives to the best of your ability. To then read this loose legislation with its vague offences is really concerning, because nobody is perfect. Mr Delargy told me about his faith and tried to tell me what my faith is. I know what my faith is: it is about love and compassion and giving the best parental guidance that I can to my children. For me, it is about doing that in my home, with a good heart, and trying to do the best that I can. If the Bill were enacted, I would have to pause before making decisions or would be stopped in my tracks and think, "Oh my goodness, will somebody think this or see this and try to criminalise me on the back of it?". That would be completely inappropriate, and, to go back to Mr Bradley's point, it would be a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by invading the family home. I do not know how anybody can read the Bill and not see how it applies to their life and circumstances. It is far too vague. That is what I see, and that is —.
280 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: 0.33 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.78).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.89).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- 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 | 0.12 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.21 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.23 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.78 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.33 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.89 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.09 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.58 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.40 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 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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