Plans for a landmark global LGBT conference in the UK will be scrapped this summer after more than 100 groups withdrew following a change in plans to ban conversion therapy.
Companies including Stonewall have said they will no longer support the Safe to Be Me event because it was held in London following the decision to exclude transgender people from the ban.
Government Admitted Monday This means that the conference was now in doubt as it was held in June and July.
Now Sky News understands that the event is going to be canceled
What was the plan of the summit?
The conference will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first official Pride March in the capital.
It was billed as the first global LGBT conference in the UK when it was launched last year by senior ministers Liz Truss and Dominic Raab.
The event promises to bring together officials, policymakers, staff and experts to “protect and promote the rights of LGBT people worldwide.”
But more than 80 LGBT + groups and more than 20 HIV organizations have emerged from the debate over the government’s retreat over conversion therapy.
Last week the government changed plans to ban conversion therapy after it was first set in 2018.
Read more: What is conversion therapy and what is the position of the government?
The practice seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and is prohibited in several countries.
But the government is now planning to ban only gay conversion therapy, not trans conversion therapy – saying it would do more to consider the latter.
In a statement Monday, it said the law was enacted to ensure that “it does not interfere with the work of legitimate therapists who provide appropriate assistance to people with gender dysphoria who may consider taking life-changing drugs.”
But the persuasive decision persuaded the UK’s LBGT + business champion Ian Anderson will resignIt’s called “deeply tragic.”
Sky News contacted Downing Street for comment on the cancellation of this summer’s conference.
