A CAMPAIGN group has welcomed Scotland's five main political parties comitting to banning conversion therapy in their manifestos ahead of next month's Holyrood election.
End Conversion Therapy Scotland's campaign to ban the practice in Scotland currently has cross-party support, while the UK Government has also undertaken to ban it.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously said that conversion therapy "has no place in this country" and the UK Government pledged to outline plans for a ban after research into its prevalence is completed.
The campaigners in Scotland want the Scottish Government to act sooner and go further.
They believe ministers at Holyrood have the power to introduce legislation on public health grounds.
They also want the "suppression" of someone's sexual identity outlawed and believe this would include any groups providing support or encouragement to someone trying to not act on their attractions.
READ MORE: LGBT community needs more than platitudes to restore faith
End Conversion Therapy Scotland praised the SNP, Greens, LibDems, Labour and Conservatives for vowing to ban the practice with less than a week to go until the May 6 election.
The group's campaign has received more than 200 pledges from election candidates, constituting 26% of all candidates.
Sophie Duncan of End Conversion Therapy Scotland said: "It's fantastic that Scotland's five main political parties have united against Conversion Therapy.
"Conversion therapy belongs in an earlier era. It's a cruel practice which has no place in our society."
The term "conversion therapy" refers to any form of treatment or psychotherapy which aims to change a person's sexual orientation or to suppress a person's gender identity.
A 2018 survey of 108,000 UK members of the LGBT community suggested 2% have undergone the practice, with another 5% having been offered it.
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