LGBTQ+ charity Equality Network has taken to the streets, and the bus stops, this Valentine’s Day using an unconventional Valentine’s Day message highlighting the harm caused by conversion practices in Scotland.
Across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, the public will see digital billboards in prime locations and a media advertising van displaying the powerful campaign graphic set to raise awareness of these harmful practices.
Equality Network hopes to raise awareness that these practices still take place across Scotland – as they do across the rest of the UK – and to urge the public to get engaged and to help them push Scottish Government to finally legislate to end these harmful practices.
The Scottish Parliament gathered evidence on people’s experiences of conversion practices in Scotland in 2021. They heard from many survivors and produced a report which recommended a ban. Since then, this issue was brought by Scottish Government to public consultation. They have been considering the consultation data gathered. It is hoped that they will announce next steps regarding work on a Bill and non-legislative measures soon.
Dr Rebecca Don Kennedy, CEO of Equality Network, said: “Conversion Practices are abuse. This Valentine’s Day we wanted to raise awareness of the harmful practices still being used today to suppress, change or inhibit who someone is, who they are and who they can love. Not everyone is free to love on Valentine’s Day and we want to make that clear. We need to see an end to Conversion Practices in Scotland and we need to see it as soon as possible.
“These harmful practices still happen across a variety of spaces and in many guises across Scotland and they cause significant mental and physical harm. They also perpetuate the notion that to be LGBTI+ is something that is wrong and that must be ‘fixed’.
“Scotland must move forward with ending these practices, so that all lesbian, gay, bi, asexual, trans and non-binary people in Scotland can be free to live their lives without fear, shame, or being subject to what, in some cases, amounts to torture.
“Everyone in Scotland should be free to express their love on Valentine’s Day, and every other day. This is currently not the case – and that needs to change.”
