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National leader Judith Collins will not commit to banning conversion therapy if her party forms the next government, although she did promise to do a little more research on the subject.
Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific attempt to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
It has been widely discredited and banned in many foreign jurisdictions, including the UK, Victoria in Australia, and several US states, due to the long-term consequences for the mental health of the people who suffer from it.
During the press leaders’ debate on Tuesday, Collins was asked if he would commit to a ban, which both the Labor Party and the Greens did.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
National leader Judith Collins will not commit to banning conversion therapy.
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She said she disagreed with the practice, but would not commit to ban it.
“I don’t know why someone would do conversion therapy, you are who you are,” Collins said.
“It’s quite difficult to even define
“My advice to parents who are concerned about their children, because clearly parents are organizing this, is to be thankful that their children are alive,” he said.
“I would tell people not to do that to their children.”
After the debate, Collins admitted not knowing all the details about the ban on conversion therapy.
“I would have to know more about what really happens, it seems to me that anyone who holds someone against their will is breaking the law anyway, so I don’t understand why someone would want to do conversion therapy,” Collins said. .
“I would like to know more about it,” he said.
He promised to do more research on the issue, but said he would not affirm a position before Election Day.
“I’ll do some research on it, I think it’s important,” he said.
“First I would have to go do some research. I don’t want to go and make that decision before I have investigated it. ”
A report by Parliament’s Select Committee on Justice concluded that the practice was “relatively common” in New Zealand, “especially for minors whose parents have consented on their behalf.”
The report says that conversion therapy goes against the scientific consensus and New Zealand’s human rights regime.
“This therapy can be harmful because it perpetuates the idea that sexuality and gender identity are an individual’s choice rather than something they are born with.
Joe Johnson / Stuff
Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern on stage at the Press Leaders Debate at the James Hay Theater.
“We note that this idea is inconsistent with the general scientific consensus, the New Zealand Rights Act of 1990, and internationally recognized human rights.”
When asked what his party offered the rainbow community, Collins said, “So does everyone else,” Collins said.
“We believe in human rights, we believe in people who are who they are, and we absolutely believe in a fair economy, which is also important because, by the way, rainbow people are part of the economy.”
