- Published
Nearly 20 LGBT+ organisations and campaigners have written to the equalities minister to express their "deep concern" at her response to calls to ban so-called conversion therapy.
The campaigners say Kemi Badenoch has failed to engage with recent calls for urgent action.
The letter comes as two advisers quit the government's LGBT advisory panel on Wednesday in protest .
Ministers promised to "work at pace" to end the practice in England and Wales.
"Conversion therapy" refers to any form of treatment or psychotherapy which aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
The practice is already outlawed in Switzerland and parts of Australia, Canada and the US.
MPs from across the political spectrum backed a similar ban for England and Wales during a debate in Parliament on Monday , prompted by a petition signed by more than 250,000 people.
But campaigners have accused the government of dragging its feet, despite Boris Johnson describing the practice as "abhorrent" in July.
"Extremely troubled"
The letter dated 9 March is co-ordinated by Jayne Ozanne, one of those who resigned on Wednesday, accusing ministers of creating a "hostile environment" for LGBT+ people.
The campaigner, Peter Tatchell and the organisation, Stonewall, are among the signatories.
In the letter, they say they "fail to understand why - after nearly 1,000 days - coming forward with meaningful legislation is taking so much time".
They say they are "extremely troubled" by the minister's omission during the debate of any mention of protection for trans people, despite this group being "the most likely to be at risk".
In an interview with ITV News on Wednesday, Ms Ozanne said there had been "a lack of engagement" with the group she runs, the Ozanne Foundation, and she accused ministers of acting against their advice.
She said one of the reasons for her resignation was to "appeal" to Mr Johnson to take action over LGBT conversion therapy - which she has been through herself.
In the interview, the campaigner, who describes herself as a gay evangelical Christian, said both Ms Badenoch and minister for women and equalities Liz Truss were known among the LGBT+ community as "the ministers for inequality".
She told ITV: "I don't believe that they understand LGBT people, particularly transgender people.
"I've sat in meetings and I've been astonished about how ignorant they are on issues that affect the real lives, particularly of younger people."
Ms Ozanne said she believed Mr Johnson was "a friend of the LGBT community".
But she appealed for him to take action on the gay conversion ban, saying the current proposals "do not have the confidence of the LGBT community [or] the confidence of many senior religious leaders who've also called for a ban".
'We are hurting'
Ms Ozanne also told ITV she did not believe the Conservative government had "the best wishes of the LGBT community at heart".
"The language that I hear from them is of us being woke, or of being loud lobby groups, and what they don't seem to understand is the reason we have to shout is because we are hurting, because there are people who are vulnerable who are going unheard and unnoticed," she added.
Labour shadow equality minister Marsha de Cordova accused the government of "a pattern of behaviour which seeks to dismiss the real impact of the discrimination experienced by so many".
After Ms Ozanne's resignation, a government spokesman said: "The government is committed to building a country in which everyone, no matter their sexuality, race or religion, is free to live their lives as they choose.
"We have repeatedly made clear that we will take action to end conversion therapy and we are working to bring forward plans to do so shortly."
James Morton, one of the trans people on the panel and the second adviser to resign, said he had been "very concerned for several months that Liz Truss and her junior ministers are not committed to LGBT equality".
"It doesn't appear that they're doing anything useful or helpful for trans people, in terms of government policy" he said.
The LGBT Advisory Council was set up in 2019 with the term of current panel members set to end on 31 March.
Related Topics
from Via PakapNews