Spain’s Congress has voted to make gay conversion therapy punishable by up to two years in prison.

The reform of the country’s Criminal Code was approved on Thursday by 178 votes to 32, with 138 abstentions.

The legislation criminalises practices aimed at changing, suppressing or denying a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Those found guilty could face prison sentences of between six months and two years.

The conservative Partido Popular (PP) abstained during the vote, while the hard-right Vox party voted against the proposal.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: ‘Today, with the inclusion of the so-called conversion therapies in the Penal Code, we once again demonstrate that hate cannot set the course of our society.

‘To those who want to turn back the clock decades on rights and freedoms, we say clearly: we will not return to the past.

‘We will continue advancing toward a society where no one is persecuted for being who they are or for loving who they love. More equality. More freedom. More rights. Not one step back.’

The bill will now move to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to debate possible amendments before it can become law.

The legislation was introduced by Socialist MP Víctor Gutierrez, who described conversion therapy as ‘a form of torture’ rather than therapy.

‘There was never anything wrong with you,’ he said, addressing victims during the parliamentary debate.

‘What was wrong was the violence suffered by those who tried to take away your dignity.’

Under the proposed law, a person could still be prosecuted even if the individual undergoing the practice appeared to consent.

Supporters argue that consent can be influenced by family, social or religious pressure and therefore does not remove the abusive nature of the acts.

Several of the government’s parliamentary allies, including Sumar, Junts, Podemos, EH Bildu, PNV and Compromís, supported the reform but argued it should go further.

They called for additional measures such as financial support, housing assistance and stronger protections to help victims report abuse.

The debate also sparked heated exchanges between MPs.

PP deputy Jaime de los Santos, who is openly gay, backed criminal penalties for conversion therapy but criticised what he described as the political exploitation of LGBT rights by parties on the left.

During his speech, he said: ‘I am from the PP, I am gay, and I am very proud of both.’

Gutierrez responded by accusing him of siding with Vox and said he was ‘on the wrong side of history’.

Meanwhile, Vox rejected the legislation outright, describing it as ‘an absolute absurdity’ and claiming it represented an attack on individual freedoms.

The party argued the law would criminalise people for holding different views, while supporters insist it is designed solely to outlaw practices that seek to alter or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through coercive or pseudo-therapeutic methods.