Improving spiritual health care for LGBTQ+ Australians: beyond conversion practices: a community report

This is the is the final community report from a series of studies into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) conversion practices in Australia. The report provides a brief overview of findings from a major national survey of LGBTQA+ Australians’ religious experiences, including experiences of LGBTQA+ conversion practices. Conversion practices are efforts that aim to change or suppress the sexuality or gender identity of LGBTQA+ people. These practices may be formal, involving interventions such as counselling, organised groups or targeted pastoral care, or they may be informal, including self-directed, unpaid, and/or ad hoc efforts to change or suppress sexual desire or gender identity. The survey was conducted in 2022-2023, and complete by 1,311 LGBTQA+ people living in Australia. The survey was advertised as being a survey on “LGBTQA+ Australians’ experiences with religion and faith” and as such the sample and the findings are not representative of the broader LGBTQA+ communities (and should not be interpreted as such). Nonetheless, the survey findings provide valuable insights into the anatomy of conversion practices and associated messaging in Australia.