A public consultation on the proposed Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill in Northern Ireland has drawn responses overwhelmingly opposed to the legislation, according to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The consultation, conducted by the Assembly's Committee for Communities, received 1,379 responses. Of those, 93.55% opposed the bill, with 1,248 of 1,325 individual respondents against it, and 42 of 54 organisations opposed. Fewer than 6.5% of responses supported the bill.

The bill, sponsored by Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson, seeks to criminalise conversion practices. It passed to committee stage in September with support from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, and Alliance, while unionists voted against it.

DUP MLA Pam Cameron said the consultation results cannot be ignored. She argued that the bill is the wrong approach, stating that no one defends abusive or coercive practices, but the law already deals with harm where it occurs. She pointed to evidence from the prosecuting authority suggesting the harm threshold could be met by distress alone, with no need to show intent to cause harm, and warned that terms like "coaching" and "instruction" could affect family homes, churches, and pastoral settings.

Cameron also highlighted that ten health bodies were asked whether they had ever received complaints about conversion therapy; nine said no or had no record, and the tenth reported fewer than five complaints and found no concerns about the treatment provided. She said the bill should not proceed and called on the Alliance Party to listen to the public.

The Christian Institute also criticised the bill. James Kennedy, its NI Policy Officer, said public concern is understandable and warned that the bill could see parents of struggling teenagers facing years behind bars, and pastors facing criminal records for praying with parishioners. He said MLAs should abandon the bill.

Earlier this year, there were heated scenes in the Assembly when principal deputy speaker Carál Ní Chuilín instructed MLAs not to raise questions about how many gender identities there are. Unionist MLAs have argued that the definitions in the bill are poorly drafted and could have serious implications for ordinary parenting and free speech.

The Committee for Communities is continuing its scrutiny of the bill. The Alliance Party has been approached for comment.