The Traitors and the campaign to ban ‘conversion therapy’

What does the popular reality TV show The Traitors have to do with the current campaign to ban so-called conversion therapy?

If you’ve been following our campaign for some time, the name Matthew Hyndman may sound familiar – and that’s because as well as being a contestant on the show, the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland is the co-founder of the Ban Conversion Practices campaign.

Backed by Stonewall and Mermaids, the Ban Conversion Practices group campaigns for a broad new law that captures parental advice and the ordinary work of churches. It claims that prayer and parental converstaions which do not affirm a person’s LGBTQ+ identity are abusive and must be outlawed.

Vehicle for activism

Speaking about his game plan going into the show, Mr Hyndman said: “the moral dilemma that I see people face, I don’t quite get because there’s no morality in this at all. We all know that we’re entering a game”. Yet, his cutthroat approach so far has met with criticism from viewers.

According to LGBTQ+ magazine Scene, he views his presence on the show as a PR opportunity, hoping that his increased public profile “will amplify the urgency of the [conversion therapy] issue”. But this is not the only way he leverages media attention for activism. He also runs a social media page where he shares nude snaps of himself as part of his effort to ‘raise awareness’ about the need for conversion therapy legislation.

A ban to reach into churches

Writing for The Independent in 2021, he claimed that during a mission trip, the missionary leaders demanded that he undergo ‘conversion therapy’ after discovering he was gay. He says this involved confessing and repenting in front of his fellow missionaries, which he refused to do.

He goes on to state in the article: “Those who resist legislation against conversion therapy often resist the idea of a prayer or a pastoral conversation being subject to the scrutiny of law. However, if these things take place in an overwhelmingly homophobic or transphobic context the pernicious power of prayer must be dealt with.”

It’s clear that what Mr Hyndman wants is not a new law against abuse and coercion – since these things are rightly already illegal – but rather a law to prevent Christians from upholding the Bible’s teaching on marriage and identity in their prayers and conversations. That is to say, he wants the law to force churches to endorse LGBTQ+ theology.

Mr Hyndman has described the conversion therapy law in force in the Australian state of Victoria – which is arguably the most extreme law of its kind – as “by far the best example”.  Under Victoria’s repressive ban, it is illegal not to affirm a person’s declared gender identity. Official state guidance on how to comply with the law also tells Christians how to pray and what they can and cannot teach. According to leading human rights lawyer Jason Coppel KC, such a law here in the UK could contravene the European Convention on Human Rights on no fewer than four grounds.

The Westminster Government remains committed to publishing a draft ‘conversion practices’ Bill for England and Wales in this parliamentary session. While what the Government means by ‘conversion therapy’ still remains unclear, one thing is for certain: it will not be possible for the Government to produce a Bill that satisfies the demands of activists like Matthew Hyndman, without infringing on the ordinary work of churches. The Government would do well to learn from its predecessor and admit that a new law in this area is simply not needed.