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New criminal offence ‘not needed’ to combat conversion therapy
Though strongly opposing conversion therapy in any of its forms, the ACT Law Society does not agree with the “heavy-handed” creation of a new criminal offence.
Naomi Neilson
The ACT Law Society has welcomed intended policy behind the Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill 2020 but cautioned against the creation of a criminal offence as being a “blunt instrument” when it comes to modifying behaviours.
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The Law Society’s criminal law committee chair Michael Kukulies-Smith said that not every legislative initiative needs to be supported by an offence provision: “Government has alternative options available to it to regulate this behaviour, for example, using the civil regime provisions provided for in the [bill], health regulations or suitability criteria.”
Mr Kukulies-Smith took issue with the definition around the conversion practice, noting it was “simply too broad and vague to be a proper basis for a criminal offence”.
If the definition of the conversion therapy was limited to circumstances where coercion was present, Mr Kukulies-Smith said the carve-out exceptions contained in proposed subsection (72) of the bill would be unnecessary. The offence provision would be more easily understood and better focused, the Law Society suggested.
“As it stands, the breadth of the language used in the offence provision necessitates extensive exceptions. This of itself is an indication that the proposed [bill] has not gotten the offence definition right in the first place,” Mr Kukulies-Smith said.
The Law Society noted that the bill also provides for civil penalties, giving ACAT power to issue orders against people complained about and to order compensation.
“An alternative to creating a criminal offence could be the revocation, or ineligibility, of people who carry out conversion therapy for this accreditation. This would be effective, preferable to the imposition of a further criminal offence,” the Law Society said.
