Letter we sent to all Australian politicians

Australia is sleep-walking into a medical scandal.

LGB Alliance Australia is writing to draw your attention to the incontrovertible evidence that ‘gender-affirming care’ is neither safe, evidence-based or effective in treating children with gender confusion. We call on you to support an immediate federal inquiry into gender medicine.

As lesbians, gay men and bisexuals we understand only too well the experiences of body dysphoria, homophobia, sexual confusion and the complex journey to become an adult. We want to protect LGB youth from being harmed by medical experimentation.

The UK’s most senior paediatrician, Dr Hilary Cass published a comprehensive review into the practice of gender medicine in the UK. Along with a growing body of international reviews, the Cass report debunks years of misinformation and paints a picture of medical malpractice against vulnerable children. The UK has woken up.

The Cass review took four years to complete and applied the GRADE evaluation standards to review the major international medical studies on the practice of gender medicine the majority were found to be of poor or low quality. Dr Cass has done children across the world a great service by putting their physical, emotional and mental health first.

Key Findings

· 89 per cent of gender-confused girls and 81 percent of gender confused boys are same-sex attracted.

· The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence on the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health. NHS England recently banned the use of puberty blockers in the UK.

· Extreme care should be taken before anyone under the age of 25 transitions because this is an area of remarkably weak evidence.

· The increase in the numbers of young people who are gender diverse is driven by a complex interplay between biological, psychological and social factors including the influence of social media and peer influence.

· The increase in the numbers of young people who are gender diverse is driven by a complex interplay between biological, psychological and social factors including the influence of social media and peer influence.

· The systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies and there is not a reliable evidence base to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.

· Clinicians are unable to determine with any certainty which children and young people will go on to have an enduring trans identity.

· For most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress. Indeed the vast majority of young people will outgrow their gender confusion and will reconcile their same-sex attraction and grow up to be healthy lesbian, gay or bisexual adults.

· The use of cross-sex hormones in those under the age of 18 presents many unknowns. The lack of long-term follow-up data on those commencing treatment at an earlier age means we have inadequate information about the range of outcomes for this group.

We have watched as vulnerable youth, the majority of whom are LGB have been influenced by an ideology that promotes the illusion that an ‘identity’ can be found through powerful body-altering drugs and painful surgeries. This is a watershed moment in the UK. Both the Conservatives and Labour political parties have publicly committed to implement the Cass recommendations in full.

It’s time for politicians of both parties to demand an inquiry into what’s happening to with gender medicine in Australia.

LGB Alliance Australia are available to speak to you about the implications of the Cass review for Australian children.

Please get in touch and we will arrange to meet with you.