Prohibition of Conversion Practices Policy

1. Purpose and scope

This policy protects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people from coercive, predetermined or abusive efforts directed at changing or suppressing who they are. It applies to Association activities and to professional conduct connected with IEMT, including paid, unpaid, online, group, training and demonstration settings.

The Association’s prohibition is a professional standard. It applies whether or not particular conduct also meets a criminal, civil, regulatory or safeguarding threshold in the relevant jurisdiction.

2. Prohibited conduct

• using IEMT or another intervention with the intended outcome of changing, suppressing or eliminating a person’s sexual orientation or transgender identity;
• treating LGBT+ identity, attraction or gender diversity as an illness, defect, moral failure or imprint requiring correction;
• promising, advertising or claiming that orientation or transgender identity can or should be changed;
• using shame, fear, threats, coercion, aversion, isolation, spiritual pressure or family pressure to enforce a predetermined identity outcome;
• conditioning access to care, community, training or support on a person denying or suppressing their identity;
• referring a person to another provider for a prohibited conversion purpose;
• conducting or promoting conversion practices as research, demonstration, supervision or training.

3. Legitimate support and exploration

This policy does not prohibit non-directive, respectful exploration initiated by the client; support with distress, stigma, relationships, trauma, safety or decision-making; age-appropriate safeguarding; or lawful healthcare delivered by appropriately qualified professionals. Such work must not begin with a predetermined conclusion about the person’s orientation or transgender identity.

Neutrality does not mean withholding acceptance, ignoring discrimination or treating an identity as a hypothesis to be disproved. Practitioners must distinguish distress caused by prejudice, conflict or uncertainty from the identity itself and must work within their competence.

4. Consent and requests for change

Consent does not make a prohibited conversion purpose acceptable. A request from a client, parent, partner, faith leader or other person to change or suppress orientation or transgender identity must be declined. The practitioner should respond without humiliation, assess immediate risk, explain the professional boundary and offer affirming or specialist support where appropriate.

For children and young people, parental authority does not justify conversion practices. The child’s welfare, voice, developmental needs, confidentiality and safeguarding must remain central.

5. Advertising, records and confidentiality

Members must not advertise IEMT for conversion, suppression or “reorientation”. Testimonials, euphemisms and coded claims are covered by the same rule. Records should use respectful language, document the client’s own goals and avoid pathologising identity.

Information about orientation or transgender identity is sensitive personal data. It must not be disclosed to family, faith communities, employers or others without a lawful basis. Confidentiality may be limited only under the Breaking Confidentiality Without Consent Policy and relevant safeguarding law.

6. Concerns, protection and consequences

Immediate danger, abuse or risk to a child or adult at risk must be addressed under the Safeguarding Policy. Other concerns may be reported through the complaints process or Whistleblower’s Charter.

A substantiated breach may lead to corrective action, restriction, suspension, termination of membership or certificate consequences under the Membership Disciplinary Policy. Interim measures may be used to protect people while concerns are assessed and do not imply guilt.

7. Legal context and review

Existing criminal, safeguarding, equality and professional laws may already apply to abusive conduct. In June 2026 the UK Government published a draft Conversion Practices Bill for England and Wales. At the date of this policy it is proposed legislation, not a basis for overstating the current law. Members must also comply with the law and professional requirements of the country in which they practise.

This policy should be read with the Scope of Practice Policy, Advertising Standards Policy and Political Neutrality Policy.

Policy owner: The Association for IEMT Practitioners Ltd. Review following material legal, professional or safeguarding change, and otherwise at least every two years.