Dennis Noel Kavanagh

“We are gay men and we consider this legislation to be anti-gay. It is transing the gay away.” Jeff Dudgeon played a vital role in the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Northern Ireland. He now opposes the Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill, which is before the Northern Ireland Assembly. A founding member of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association, Jeff brought the first successful challenge to the criminalisation of homosexuality at the European Court of Human Rights. On 22 October 1981, the Court ruled that Northern Ireland’s law violated his right to respect for private life. The Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 followed, bringing the law in line with the rest of the UK. Forty-five years later, he is campaigning against a Bill presented as necessary to protect LGBT people. As he points out, those who oppose it are routinely smeared as homophobes. “Conversion practices” conjures up electric shock treatment and corrective rape — horrific practices that are already illegal. So what would this Bill criminalise? It would expose parents to prosecution, and up to two years in prison, for having honest conversations with children who are confused about their gender identity. Gender identity issues can cause great turmoil within families. Many parents already feel pressured to affirm their child’s belief that they were born in the wrong body, for fear of damaging their relationship. The Bill would add the threat of prosecution for parents who wish to guide their child away from life-changing, irreversible medicalisation. It would rip families apart. This is of particular concern to gay rights campaigners such as Jeff, because the vast majority of gender-confused children are same-sex attracted, and same-sex attraction often goes hand in hand with gender non-conformity in childhood. Watch @JeffDudgeon👇