Finland prepares ban on conversion practices

Finland’s Ministry of Justice is collecting information on conversion practices as it prepares legislation to ban them, Yle reports.

During the preliminary phase, the ministry is gathering empirical information about the phenomenon and the harm it causes in Finland, legislative counsellor Sami Kiriakos told the Finnish News Agency STT. The Institute for Crime Policy Research in Europe is conducting the study.

According to Kiriakos, the study is expected to be completed around the turn of the year. The ministry’s legislative work will then continue on the basis of its findings.

Parliament approved a citizens’ initiative to ban conversion practices in March last year.