By Sophie GallagherBBC News
Plans to ban so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales have been abandoned by the government.
According to NHS England, conversion therapy tries to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity.
The ban was announced in the Queen's Speech in May 2021.
But a government spokesperson said it had instead "decided to proceed by reviewing how existing law can be deployed more effectively".
It would also explore "other non-legislative measures" to prevent conversion therapy, they added.
But Labour's Anneliese Dodds tweeted that it was an "outrageous decision".
"A government that believes conversion therapy is acceptable in 21st Century Britain is no friend of the LGBT+ community," the shadow women and equalities secretary said.
And Liberal Democrat equalities spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said it was "giving the green light to a form of torture in the UK".
"This is an utter betrayal of the LGBT+ community."
Jayne Ozanne, chair of the #BanConversionTherapy coalition and conversion therapy survivor told the BBC that the news "emboldens perpetrators and allows them to act with impunity".
"It lets them know that the government is on their side and does not want to hold them to account," she said.
She called it a betrayal of those who bravely told their stories in the hope the prime minister would act. "I do not understand why he is throwing young LGBT people under the bus," she said.
Analysis
By Josh Parry, LGBT producer
The mood music amongst the LGBT+ community is one of shock, but not necessarily surprise.
Ever since plans to ban conversion therapy practices were announced in 2018, there have been several delays, a number of consultations and a lot of public debate.
It comes at a particularly embarrassing time for No 10.
Just weeks ago, the Council of Europe raised grave concerns about the UK's direction of travel on LGBT+ rights and this summer the government is going to host its first ever international LGBT+ conference.
U-turning on this issue is due to leave a dark cloud hanging over them when it's likely to be attended by nations who outlawed conversion years ago.
The leaked Downing Street document that confirmed the ban was being dropped - and was first seen by ITV - supposedly predicts a "noisy backlash from LGBT groups and some parliamentarians".
But if the immediate reaction is anything to go by, that's quite the understatement.
In 2018, Theresa May's government promised to end conversion therapy as part of its LGBT equality plan.
The promise was bought forward by Boris Johnson. In July 2020, he said the practice was "absolutely abhorrent" and "[had] no place in this country".
In May 2021, the Queen's Speech reiterated that measures would be "bought forward" to ban the practice.
Liz Truss, in her role as minister for women and equalities, said after the monarch's speech: "As a global leader on LGBT rights, this government has always been committed to stamping out the practice of conversion therapy."
But she also stated that the ban would only happen following a consultation seeking "further views from the public and key stakeholders".
Some groups, including the Evangelical Alliance, which says it represents 3,500 churches, say a ban on conversion therapy could infringe on traditional religious teachings or restrict religious freedoms.
However many other religious leaders support a ban.
Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity, Mind, described it as a "deeply regressive move", saying "people do not need to be 'cured'".
"Conversion 'therapy' is harmful and has a terrible impact on a person's mental health, and people who have been subject to these practices go on to experience poor self-esteem, depression, anxiety and self-hatred.
"Anything other than an outright ban is an abject failure," Mr Farmer added.
In the 2018 national LGBT government survey, 5% of the 108,100 respondents had been offered conversion therapy and 2% had undergone the practice in a bid to "cure them" of being LGBT.
from Via PakapNews