Description
This paper examines the ongoing presence and impact of conversion practices in Northern Ireland through the lens ofconflict, change, and solidarity. Drawing on recent qualitative research, it explores lived experiences of LGBTQI+
individuals targeted by conversion practices within religious, educational, and mental health settings. While often hidden
from public view, these practices persist as mechanisms of moral regulation, reflecting enduring cultural and institutional
conflicts over sexuality, gender, and belonging. Findings highlight how conversion practices emerge from tensions between
progressive shifts in LGBTQI+ rights and deeply embedded religious and social conservatism. Participants described
pathways into conversion practices shaped by community pressure, faith-based teachings, and structural stigma, often
leading to profound psychological harm, fractured familial relationships, and long-term identity distress. These narratives
reveal conversion practices as sites where competing moral frameworks and social orders collide. At the same time, the
study foregrounds emerging forms of resistance and solidarity, from peer support networks to advocacy movements, that
challenge these harmful practices and press for legislative change. By situating conversion practices within the sociological
study of cultural conflict and social change, this paper argues that they are not isolated incidents but part of wider struggles
over identity, power, and belonging in post-conflict Northern Ireland. It calls for sociologists to centre lived testimony in
shaping solidarity-driven responses and policy reform.
| Period | 07 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Sociological Association of Ireland Annual Conference 2026 |
| Event type | Conference |