Jo Bartosch: ‘a conversion therapy ban would be devastating for women and girls’

A conversion therapy ban would enshrine gender ideology into law, warned feminist journalist Jo Bartosch in a recent interview with Let Us Pray.

Bartosch, who has written for Spiked, The Times, The Telegraph and The Critic, was clear that a conversion therapy ban would have absolutely devastating implications for women and girls and “serious ramifications for single sex services”.

She said “there is no evidence at all that it [a conversion therapy ban] is in any way necessary or needed”.

And when asked about someone who might have had a bad experience in a church and claims new criminal laws are the solution, she said there are already laws in place.

Bartosch commented: “I think the idea of conversion therapy brings up memories of things like electric shock treatment and aversion therapy and corrective rape, and these are all terrible, terrible things that happened in some parts of the world and happened in the past, but they are not happening now, which is why I think it’s sort of a confected moral panic and why legislation already exists to penalise these things.”

She added: “So if somebody is badly treated in a church, there are laws to cover that. So I would advise them to perhaps go to the police if it’s serious enough. But if it’s a matter of somebody saying are you sure you really think you’re a boy or a girl – deal with it.”

Finally, Bartosch gave a stark warning that “if we don’t have very clear definitions about what conversion therapy is, where it’s happening, if it’s happening, and to whom it’s happening, we will just have a free for all for anyone who feels a bit aggrieved”.

You can watch the full interview here