09/12/2020
On the edition of "ShoutOut" broadcast and podcast on Thursday 10th December, we are looking at the threats to the LGBTQ movement and for young trans+ people of the recent ruling by the High Court on puberty blockers. We thought that our listeners may like to see our own briefing sheet for presenters which contains some of the latest postings on the subject.
Briefing for Feature on Trans Youth Decision – Thursday 10th December 2020
Our Original Report, Broadcast last week
Pink News, The Guardian, BBC News and Sky News all gave prominence on Tuesday to an important High Court ruling which will have implications for young people with gender dysphoria and wishing to transition to a different gender identity. The court ruled that those under sixteen years of age must fully understand the physical and emotional effects of taking puberty blockers and hormone medication. The judges delivering their verdict in a case brought by a little known “detransitioner” activist said that they found it doubtful that under sixteen year olds could give meaningful consent to the treatment. In such cases, court authorisation is now recommended before treatment can begin. Pink News notes that the reverberations from this ruling may be felt globally where other courts weigh up how trans young people access services. A spokesperson for the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust which is the foremost NHS trust dealing with trans young people said: “The trust is disappointed by today’s judgment and we understand that the outcome is likely to cause anxiety for patients and their families”. The spokesperson confirmed that the Trust is seeking leave to appeal the ruling. Mermaids, which is a charity dealing with young trans and gender questioning people said that the ruling was a betrayal of the state's duty towards young trans people and added that they will make s full statement in due course. The case against the NHS Foundation Trust was partially brought by a woman called Keira Bell. Bell is a part of a “detransitioner” movement that has been compared by some gay people to the “ex gay” movement in the United States, which claims to be able to turn gay people straight. Pink News published pictures of Bell, who said that she had been prescribed puberty blockers whilst considering traditioning, with supporters, one of whom was wearing garments with anti-trans slogans, identifying them as part of the organised anti-trans movement in the UK. This movement has been denounced by many feminists as being bankrolled by religious extremists with links to the United States. Their stated aim is to sever the traditional ties of solidarity between lesbian women and transgender people so that they can undermine both groups.
Reactions:
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - British LGBT+ groups have received a surge in calls and emails from transgender children and their parents following a court ruling this week that will force doctors to get a judge’s approval before prescribing puberty-blocking drugs to under-16s. Calls to a helpline run by Manchester-based LGBT Foundation trebled compared to the same week last year, a spokeswoman said on Friday, while Mermaids - which offers support to trans children and their families - saw a 60% rise in emails. “People are literally panicking,” said Mermaids Chief Executive Susie Green. “We’re just trying to keep on top of it, to keep our service users in a position where they feel informed ... because people are so distressed and upset.” Trans advocacy group Gendered Intelligence is putting on an emergency information session for parents and carers next week about the ruling, which has fueled global debate about the age at which a child can choose to transition gender. Trans Radio UK, a community radio station which broadcasts “ShoutOut” says that its helpline TRUK Listens has also seen an increase in calls. About 2,660 under-18s were referred in the year to March, but only 161 in that same year were referred to specialists who prescribe puberty blockers, said a spokeswoman for the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Gender Identity Development Service. GIDS, for which waiting lists are more than 18 months, has been criticised by some parents and trans young people for not offering enough information and support after Tuesday’s ruling, including for those already on puberty blockers. It said on its website that it had stopped new referrals for puberty blockers while it continued to work out the legal implications of the judgment, which the Tavistock is appealing.
Pink News is the UK's largest LGBTQ newswire. They were following the case closely, and report: that radical feminist groups had orchestrated much of the event, bringing the prosecution to the tune of ninety five thousand pounds. In a lengthy essay for Pink News, their reporter, who was the only trans journalist present for much of the case reports of aggressive behaviour from this group of women towards people trying to give evidence, including cisgender women. Pink News also carries this week an interview with a seventeen year old trans girl who describes the increasingly difficult options now open to her and other trans young people after the ruling. Amber, like so many other trans people, is now crowdfunding to access HRT privately with GenderGP. Her family is on a low income, receives benefits, and has no other way of paying for private healthcare.
Writing in Gay Times, Zoya Raza-Sheikh notes that many cisgender women – within and without the lesbian community – have disassociated themselves from these feminist groups claims to speak for them. Olivia Colman, Jameela Jamil and Paloma Faith were among a list of high-profile figures to sign an open letter vocalising their support of trans women, particularly those that experience extreme violence. ‘Our feminism is against any and all violence, against any and all women,' they wrote to the Independent to mark the International Day Against Violence Against Women.
In the far right wing papers, there was an effort afoot to pitch gay and lesbian people against the transgender community. In the Spectator, Brendan O'Neill, hated by many lesbians and gay men for his past as a spokesperson for the anti-gay marriage movement, suddenly “discovered” gay people who he believes need to be guided to oppose trans rights. This overnight conversion should ring alarm bells and alert any politically conscious gay people to a new group of fairweather friends telling us to turn on trans people to gain support in society. We know from the gay press infiltrating their meetings in the States that far right wingers have heard briefings on how they can turn the longstanding LGBTQ coalition against itself, and thus make each group, starting with trans people and then moving on to bisexual and then gay people, easier to pick off one by one.
It is salutory to note that, as far as those who wish violence against trans and gender non-conformist people are concerned, being a member of any other part of the rainbow spectrum offers no protection. ITV WestCountry news last week reported that a white gay man, was subject to horrific verbal screaming and abuse by a group of heterosexuals outside a store in Camborne. His facial piercings and perceived androgyny by the attackers opened him to hideous abuse and demonstrates that, in the words of the Queer Nation activist group “An Attack on One of Us Is An Attack on All of Us”.
