We are deeply disturbed by the NHS announcement that cross-sex hormones may be prescribed to children as young as fifteen. It recently announced it was halting the prescription of puberty blockers because of the poor evidence base, concluding that these drugs are neither safe nor effective. Exactly the same applies to cross-sex hormones, with the added point that these cause irreversible changes to the body within months. In the case of teenage girls – the majority – these changes include a deep voice and beard growth. There is an alarming lack of joined-up thinking here.
LGB Alliance has campaigned for years against the medicalisation of “gender non-conforming” teens. This issue is of grave concern to us and our supporters, since evidence shows that the majority of those affected would grow up lesbian, gay or bisexual without the need for lifelong medicalisation if not given what is euphemistically called “gender-affirming health care”.
Gay teens aren’t sick!
The explosion in numbers of “gender non-conforming” teenagers seeking drugs in the belief that they have been “born in the wrong body” is a cultural phenomenon that is being driven by online influencers and the inappropriate involvement of third-party activist organisations at schools. Essential principles of safeguarding have been abandoned.
Today the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG) is holding a conference on evidence-based treatment of young people presenting with “gender dysphoria”. The speakers are expert, experienced clinicians and academics from a variety of disciplines.
Outside the venue, an angry mob blocked the entrance in an attempt to stop attendees entering the conference. The police eventually intervened.
The picture of masked protestors outside a medical conference is a perfect illustration of the problem in this area. As clinicians gather to discuss the appropriate response of health care providers to distressed young people presenting with gender dysphoria, activists try to disrupt their conference.
Activism has no place in medicine. Medical treatment should be based on sound evidence. The NHS needs to go back to the drawing board, and to resist the pressure of gender identity activists to control the narrative. Teenagers distressed by their sexed bodies need evidence-based care, including expert, compassionate, neutral counselling. They certainly do not need cross-sex hormones, which are being pushed by the kind of activists who think it appropriate to protest against a medical conference.