Just 6.5% of public consultation responses supported the proposed Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill in Northern Ireland.
A report published on Thursday puts opposition at 93.55% of the 1,379 responses.
The figures were published by the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Communities.
42 out of 55 organisations who submitted responses to the Government consultation opposed the Bill.
The Bill explicitly uses the term “gender identity” in defining the proposed criminal offences. If passed, it is first time the term would appear in Northern Ireland legislation.
Speakers at a Belfast event examining the proposed Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill in September challenged its supporters to explain what conduct the legislation would criminalise that is not already covered by existing law.
The Newsletter reports that the Alliance Party has been urged to drop the legislation aimed at banning so-called conversion practices, after Stormont officials revealed that only a small minority of responses to a consultation on the controversial legislation were in favour.
Both individuals and organisations opposed the Bill on a range of grounds – citing concerns over religious freedom and parental rights, and the legal definition of “coaching or instruction” in the Bill’s definition of conversion therapy.
Concerns were also raised about the threshold for harm, with the Assembly’s own research paper noting that the proposed offences include psychological harm such as fear, alarm or distress. It identifies the scope of this threshold as an issue for MLAs to scrutinise.
Supporters have argued that existing laws do not cover every form of conversion practice and that specific offences are required to protect LGBTQ+ people from harmful attempts to change or suppress their identity.
DUP MLA for North Down, Peter Martin, this week said that the “frankly dangerous” Bill was “dead” after responses to the consultation were published.
The legislation has sparked separate unionist opposition, including from some within the Ulster Unionist Party. UUP MLA Jon Burrows said it was a “simply awful Bill.”
Introduced in June, the Private Members Bill passed the second stage in the Assembly by 46 votes to 29, supported by Sinn Fein and the SDLP.
It is now being examined in detail at Committee Stage, and its provisions may still be amended.
Ruth Paterson of Women’s Rights Network NI said the Bill was “a vehicle for gender ideologists to be validated and to freely ‘affirm’ regardless of harm caused.”
The campaigner and solicitor described the legislation as “badly drafted law with human rights implications,” adding “if it comes into law it will be challenged.”
The Bill has also sparked fears over the implications for the ability of therapists to fully assist those with gender dysphoria.
Critics of the Bill, which include the Free Speech Union in the UK, argue it could impact freedom of expression, the ability of women to speak on transgender issues, and religious freedom.
Campaigners have criticised what they say is a “climate of no debate” around the Bill.