Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
I thank the Member for that question. That clause would give delegated powers to the Department of Health to update the list at any time, should the Minister and the Department see fit. We have not restricted it or made it time-bound. We want to give the Department the flexibility to amend the list and bring in other…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does she agree that it is an insult to many practising adults, including parents, pastors and others involved in the day-to-day lives of young people, that the specific exemption that Mr Tennyson has included in the Bill applies only to those in the medical profession? The definition…
No, I will move on, because I did not receive the same courtesy when the Member's colleagues spoke. I asked for interventions a number of times. I may come to the Member later. I move on to clause 2. I want to know what the threshold is for a victim's suffering "physical or psychological harm". How is "harm" defined?…
Yes. It is about the burden of proof element. It is the subjective nature of the Bill that concerns me. I thank the Member for his intervention on that point. The Bill sponsor will also say that the Bill's intent, as set out in the explanatory and financial memorandum and clause 7, provides safeguards for expressions…
I thank the Member for giving way. The Bill sponsor has always defended his Bill by saying that there is a reasonableness test. He has also said that we should not be alarmed by the settings and scenarios that we describe, because the definition of "coercive behaviour" is steeped in the Domestic Abuse and Civil…
I thank the Member for that important point and for his intervention. The Bill does not define the passage of time. There is no cut-off point. It could be anything for anybody, which is deeply concerning. Clause 1(3) is very worrying, and I will come on to that later. People of faith must not be criminalised for…
I thank the Member for giving way. The Bill sponsor's noble defence that he makes of his subjective whataboutery is all well and good, but he cannot hide from the situation that would present itself as a result of clause 1(3), clause 2(3), and clause 3(3). Clause 1(3) states: "It is not a defence that the victim…
I thank the Member for giving way. Perhaps the Bill sponsor does this deliberately, but, every time that we give him a scenario, he reverts to clause 2, which is the offence of engaging in coercive conversion behaviour, and not clause 1, which is the offence of providing conversion therapy. That is what parents,…
The problem is that the language in your Bill is so subjective. Look at the different paragraphs in clause 5(1). Paragraph (e) states that "coercive behaviour" means: "making the victim feel frightened, humiliated, degraded, punished or intimidated."
I thank the Member for giving way. She has referred to the example of a young person wanting to access puberty blockers. Take a parent with a teenager who is 16 at the moment. They want to access puberty blockers, but the parent says no. The definition of "coercive and controlling behaviour" is already in domestic…
helpful contributions that she made to the debate. At the outset, I feel that I should, regrettably, declare an interest. I could be unwittingly criminalised as a parent as a result of this legislation, if it goes further, and as a woman. Indeed, my father, who is a minister, could be criminalised as a result of the…
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Dog-whistle messaging.
I thank the Member for giving me a second intervention. I am on a run here. I am thankful to the Member. There has been a lot of framing from the other side of the Chamber — particularly, I have to say, from Sinn Féin — that, somehow, it represents all the LGBTQI+X community in Northern Ireland and that, somehow, that…
I thank my colleague for that intervention. I agree wholeheartedly with him. It is clear that there are very real fears around the reach of the legislation. That is not just from straight, socially conservative politicians. Many people are rightly alarmed by the impact that the legislation could have. That absolutely…
FlaggedGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Dog-whistle messaging.
I thank the Member for giving way. I have not managed to get many interventions in here this evening, despite giving a few to the other side when I was speaking, but that is up to them. I will read the Member a quote from the Women's Rights Network. To be clear to some Members in the House, it is not a Christian…
FlaggedDecided on a second assessment.Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues
I thank the sponsor for his intervention. The proposed legislation goes much further than the examples that he has given. In fact, I will quote again my trans woman friend who has been in contact with me over recent days. She said: "To be frank, I really don't know why he" — her words, not mine — "has put gender in…