08/09/2024
Please note that the following article discusses issues around suicide and should be read with advisement especially if you are experiencing mental health problems, depression, anxiety disorders or are easily triggered. The excellent US based blogger, Erin in the Morning, has published evidence that the National Health Service has suppressed evidence of trans youth suicide at a high level. Mira Lazine writes for the Erin website saying "Jo Maugham - director of the United Kingdom legal advocacy organization The Good Law Project - wrote a detailed thread on X/Twitter in which he alleges that there has been a substantial increase in the number of suicides for young trans people on the National Health Service (NHS) waitlist, and that the NHS has been suppressing the evidence. Maugham says that this occurred after the infamous 2020 Bell v. Tavistock ruling that restricted care for those under 16. While this ruling has since been overturned, the damage from it is still being felt today." The Bell versus Tavistock case was brought by an angry young woman called Kira Bell, who was sponsored by various far right wing groups. Lazine continues "Maugham, who first announced some of these claims in a Good Law Project fundraiser opposing the British puberty blocker ban, says that he spoke with two whistleblowers. ....Maughan says "Our debased national discourse around trans people - the harassment of clinicians; its politicisation by some Ministers, journalists, cheerleaders, in the NHS has, I think on the evidence, led to young people taking their own lives. This is a profound, emerging national scandal.” For more of this shocking case, visit Erin in the Morning online, and we suggest you subscribe to the excellent investigative website. If you are affected by any of the issues discussed in this article and are distressed, remember never to give in to the bullies in our heads or in society. Instead, you can reach out for support. The Samaritans are available on 116 123 for free, 24 hours a day. Other resources include the National LGBTQIA Switchboard at 0800 0119 100 and our colleagues at Trans Radio UK who have a service called TRUK Listens on 0800 009 6640. You may like to consult the web pages of MIND, SANE and specialist mental health services as well.
