Religious leaders from across the globe gather to agree LGBT+ safeguarding principles
Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives logo
THIS WEEK the 2022 Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives Conference (GIC+) brought together more than 150 religious leaders from 30 countries and a range of faiths, along with academics and lay leaders, to agree a set of Safeguarding Principles to protect LGBT+ people from harm.
The initiative, led by the Ozanne Foundation, builds on the success of the 2020 GIC+ Conference, which launched the Dignity of All Declaration that has since been signed by hundreds of religious leaders from around the world.
Delegates, including four Anglican Primates, the Chief Rabbi of Poland and the former President of Ireland, Dr Mary McAleese, analysed specially commissioned research into the abusive practices of ‘conversion therapy’ experienced by LGBT+ people living in Hungary and the Caribbean. The two reports provide hard evidence of the harm inflicted on LGBT+ people, particularly LGBT+ children and young people, in cultures that are hostile to them.
Rt Revd Paul Bayes, Co-Chair, Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives & Patron of the Open Table Network.
The research shows the significantly higher levels of suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts and self-harm experienced by those who have undergone ‘conversion therapy’, often encouraged and practised by their parents, healthcare professionals and religious leaders, compared to those in the LGBT+ community who have not experienced any form of ‘conversion therapy’.
Professor Zoe Playdon, Emeritus Professor of Medical Humanities at the University of London and Chair of the Research Advisory Board, said:
‘The research demonstrates how defenceless young LGBT+ people turned for support to those they trusted, in places that should have been safe, and found only prejudice and harm. Their abusers are encouraged by a toxic culture whose constant negative message is that being LGBT+ is unacceptable, prompting vulnerable people to turn to these degrading practices or worse, seek death. That is why we need the international community, and religious leaders in particular, to speak out.’
The co-chair of the GIC+, the Anglican Bishop Paul Bayes, who is also a Patron of the Open Table Network, said in his opening address:
GIC+ Principles to Safeguard LGBT+ Lives - Click image to enlarge, or read the full text on this Twitter thread.
‘Our title is Safeguarding LGBT+ Lives. Colleagues will know the phrase long associated with the Hippocratic Oath of medicine: ‘First, do no harm’. Religious traditions of all kinds seek the flourishing of the human being, in the context of what we would variously call God's love, the divine compassion, the Divine Mercy, the fulfilment of the world's purposes, any of the many ways we use to express our beliefs. Religious leaders are committed to the freedom of religious belief. But undergirding that, in our very different traditions, I believe we are all called to do no harm. To safeguard lives. To do this in the context of the flourishing of LGBT+ people, we must recognise the harm that people suffer due to certain religious teachings. We must look together at how best to safeguard against this harm. That, at bedrock, is the aim of our conference.’
The organiser of the event, Jayne Ozanne, who is the Director of the GIC+, said:
‘It is so encouraging to see the importance that so many senior faith leaders from around the world have placed on this event, with many clearing their diaries and coming to London to show their solidarity and support for this critical Safeguarding project. The principles, once adopted, are revolutionary and will transform the lives of thousands of LGBT+ people.’
