February 16, 2022
Māori and Pasifika church youth to fore in conversion therapy fight
Minister Kiri Allen is proud of the 112 MPs who last night voted to make conversion therapy a criminal offence in Aotearoa.
Ms Allen says being forced as a teenager to go through a version of the therapy to rid herself of what her church called demonic influences created years of trauma.
She’s grateful to the people and organisations outside parliament who fought against efforts to make homosexual people deny their reality.
“So many beautiful young Māori, Pasifika leaders I can think of that have been at the forefront of these movements, part of their churches, trying to break down the stigma that has existed for a lot of us in our church environments for many years, and I think last eight’s vote was a real indicator the time has changed,” she says.
Ms Allen says she’s abandoned the Pentecostal denomination of her youth and is now a member of Te Haahi Ratana.