The Trans Agenda #31

[3 June 2024]

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Apologies for the lack of an edition last week, I took advantage of the UK Bank Holiday to be lazy and just not bother. With an election on the horizon, the campaigns are taking place over the six weeks of the year I get to laze about in my day job, so I seized a chance to do nowt last week.

Nothing good comes without a price these days and, as a result, I’ve a fuck-ton to catch up on. So let’s do that.

So, we finally have an election date. July 4th 2024, the day we know the Tories will be voted out. Of course, there is little to cheer for queer people with the incoming Labour government, particularly trans people, but please do remember to set that aside for a moment and enjoy the end of the current set of fascists we have in charge. It’s the little things, you know?

While things don’t seem like they will improve for trans people specifically under Labour, overall things should show some sign of improvement. We don’t ask for much in the UK anymore. As long as the government isn’t actively trying to kill us, we are satisfied. Wary, but satisfied.

I joke, of course. The whole thing is a shit show. Labour have shown themselves to be to the right of David Cameron’s Conservatives and they are the ones who started digging the canyon of despair we now find ourselves languishing at the bottom of.

Ahead of the election, we all expected the attacks on trans people to increase exponentially and we were not wrong with the Tories misusing emergency powers to ban private puberty blockers prescriptions before declaring they will rewrite the Equality Act if they are re-elected, something they could have tried to do when in power but didn’t because they know they won’t be able to.

The Trans Agenda

NEWS & POLITICS

UK uses emergency powers to criminalise puberty blockers

  • On 31 May, NHS England sent letters to parents of trans youth stating they must immediately stop taking puberty blockers, as possession will now be considered a crime without a UK prescription. This follows an edict by Health Secretary Victoria Atkins using emergency powers to ban these medications without parliamentary approval. The prohibition targets not only providers but also families, potentially criminalising them. Jo Maugham from the Good Law Project announced plans for a legal challenge against these regulations.As you can see from the letter below, this policy clearly and deliberately discriminates against trans kids.
    NHS England Letter 31.05.2024 Dear Patient, Parent, or Guardian NHS England is sending this letter to everyone who is on the waiting list for the NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Service, but this information will be of most interest to children and young people, and their parents or carers, who are taking Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRH analogues) for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria (commonly referred to as Puberty Blockers or Puberty Suppressing Hormones). This letter provides urgent information on the implications of new Government policy. The Government introduced emergency restrictions on 29 May 2024 on the use of a group of medicines called GnRH analogues when they are used to suppress puberty as part of treating gender incongruence or gender dysphoria in children and young people who are under 18 years of age. Some of these restrictions will take effect from 3 June 2024. The Government’s announcement is published here: New Restrictions on Puberty Blockers. The new arrangements apply to medicines that consist of or contain buserelin, gonadorelin, goserelin, leuprorelin acetate, nafarelin, or triptorelin. This includes, but is not limited to, medicines sold under the brand names: Decapeptyl, Gonapeptyl Depot, Salvacyl, Prostap, Staladex, Zoladex, Synarel. The individuals who will be most impacted are those who are currently receiving a prescription for GnRH analogues from a healthcare professional who is registered outside of the UK in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, or who were intending to obtain such a prescription. It will also particularly impact on individuals who have not yet started on a course of treatment with GnRH analogues, depending on what the treatment is for. If you need help We understand that the Government’s changes may cause worry and concern to some individuals and families. If it is impacting your mental health you may want to seek support. If you are under the care of an NHS mental health service, you should contact your team. If not, you can contact your GP practice. Further advice on getting mental health support is available at NHS Mental Health Support.
    Changes made by the Government As a result of the new Government policy, from 3 June 2024 it will become a criminal offence for a pharmacist, doctor or any other individual in Great Britain to sell or supply these drugs to patients under the age of 18 except in the following circumstances: The child or young person is using an NHS prescription (for example, from the NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Service or from an NHS GP). The child or young person is using a private prescription from a clinician registered in the United Kingdom that fulfills the following criteria: If the prescription was dated prior to 3 June 2024, whether as a one-off prescription or a repeat prescription, it can still be dispensed, whether the treatment is for gender incongruence/dysphoria or some other purpose. In practice, unless it is a repeat prescription, it will need to have been issued within the previous six months to still be valid; or If the prescription is written on or after 3 June 2024, it can only be dispensed if it is written by a UK-registered doctor, nurse or pharmacist, whatever its purpose. It must be either for a purpose other than treatment for gender dysphoria/incongruence, or if it is for gender dysphoria/incongruence, the patient must have started treatment before 3 June 2024. In addition to those patients who have actually started treatment, patients are treated as having started treatment, whether or not they have actually taken a GnRH analogue, if they were prescribed with a GnRH analogue on or after 3 December 2023. It will also be a criminal offence to possess these medicines, where the individual had reasonable cause to know that the medicine had been sold or supplied in breach of the ban. Additionally, from 26 June 2024 NHS prescribers in GP practices in primary care will only be able to supply – or continue to supply - prescriptions for GnRH analogues in the following circumstances: The patient is aged 18 years or over; or The patient is 17 years or under and has started treatment with these medicines (they will be treated as having started treatment if they have been issued with a prescription for these medicines since 3 December 2023, even if they have not yet actually started to take the medicine); or The patient is 17 years or under and is being treated with GnRH analogues for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria by the NHS as part of a future clinical trial overseen by the National Institute for Health and Care Research; or The patient is 17 years or under and the purpose of the prescription is for a medical condition other than gender incongruence or gender dysphoria. From 3 June, private prescriptions of GnRH analogues from a prescriber registered in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland are banned from being supplied in Great Britain in all circumstances for patients aged under 18.
    NHS England Letter 31.05.2024 I am under 18 years of age; and I am already being prescribed GnRH analogues through a private prescription from a healthcare professional registered in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. You will not be able to receive GnRH analogues from a pharmacy in Great Britain from 3 June 2024 for a prescription issued from that date. Pharmacies in Great Britain can no longer dispense new EEA / Swiss prescriptions for GnRH analogues from 3 June 2024. You will need to stop taking GnRH analogues unless you are newly prescribed them by a UK-registered doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. These medications can be safely stopped and you do not need to be weaned off. You are strongly advised to meet with your clinician who initiated treatment for further advice and support. If you require psychological support, ask your GP to refer you to your local NHS mental health service for children and young people. Contact NHS 111 if you think that you are at immediate risk of psychological harm.

Tories announce change to Equality Act as part of their manifesto

  • The Conservatives, with a policy led by Kemi Badenoch, plans to amend the Equality Act to define sex strictly as biological sex, allowing organisations to exclude trans women from single-sex spaces like hospital wards and sports events. This change, pushed by Badenoch and endorsed by Rishi Sunak, aims to resolve imagined legal ambiguities and protect women’s safety from imagined threats. It is, of course, unworkable as it undermines gender recognition certificates, fosters discrimination (that’s the point) and ignores the lived realities of trans people, in particular trans men. The move is seen as a key part of the Tories’ election strategy against Labour and is predicated on nothing more than the Cult’s insistence that they can ‘always tell’.

Labour will not change the Equality Act

  • At the time of writing, Labour have not responded to the Tories’ plans to change the Equality Act but are expected to confirm they will not change it. Instead, they believe the problems lie in the guidance that’s been issued, which is true, but not for the reasons Labour are going to claim.

 

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Anti-trans MPs at risk of losing their seats

  • I recently compiled a spreadsheet looking at the margins of some of the most anti-trans MPs to see who is most at risk of losing their seats. Despite having a massive margin, Kemi Badenoch is also believed to be at risk.
    The image displays a table of MPs, their parties, constituencies, and the margins by which they won their seats in the 2024 election. Here's a summary of the key information: MPs and Their Parties: The table lists MPs from various parties including ALBA, DUP, LAB, CON, SNP, and REF. Constituencies: Each MP's constituency is listed, showing the geographic diversity of their representation. Margins: The table includes the winning margins, indicating how decisively each MP won their seat. The margins range from narrow victories like Neale Hanvey (ALBA) in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath with 1243 votes, to large margins such as Keir Starmer (LAB) in Holborn and St Pancras with 27754 votes.

Suzy Izzard suggests being trans affected her chance of becoming an MP [Pink News]

  • Suzy Izzard has faced significant challenges in her bid to become a Labour MP, particularly due to her identity as a trans woman. In a recent interview, she suggested that her chances of securing a parliamentary seat have been negatively impacted by widespread anti-trans sentiment. Despite these obstacles, Izzard remains committed to her political ambitions, aiming to represent Brighton Pavilion.

New paper on Gender-inclusive language in midwifery and perinatal services released [Sally Pezaro PhD, John Pendleton MSc, Rodante van der Waal MA, Sarah LaChance Adams PhD, Mario J. D. S. Santos PhD, Ash Bainbridge MA, Krishna Istha BA, Zan Maeder MSc, John Gilmore PhD, Jeannine Webster MSc, Bunty Lai-Boyd MSc, Anne Marie Brennan RM, Elizabeth Newnham PhD]

  • The paper addresses the importance of inclusive language in midwifery and perinatal care, arguing that the use of “sexed language”—language that reinforces a binary understanding of gender—causes harm and is unethical. This practice marginalises not only trans, gender-diverse, and non-binary people but also cisgender women by upholding colonialist, heteropatriarchal values.

President of American Academy of Paediatrics responds to Cass mispresenting AAP’s position [source]

Waterstones promote GC book at the start of Pride [Waterstones]

  • With Pride barely underway, a branch of Waterstones posted out a selection of books, including the latest GC nonsense, The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht.A collection of ramblings from people who are obsessed with trans people, it’s fun to note that this book is named after a hashtag that emerged in support of Marion Millar. Millar was subsequently arrested at the end of last year on charges of fraud allegedly spanning four years. They don’t talk about that part as much.

Keep an eye out for –

  • What else the Tories can come up with to target trans people. With just over 30 days left until the election, they have 30 more chances to show how bad they really are. Again.

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READ The Trans Agenda: The papers: 27 May – 2 June

  • Despite threatening to use trans people as a battering ram ahead of the upcoming election, and with the caveat that there is still a long way to go, in the 11 days since the election was called, there has not been an uptick in anti-trans content in the publications I check. Over the past 11 days there were 37 articles whereas in the 11 prior there were 41. The 11 before that saw 44.

AROUND THE WORLD

10 police officers charged in connection with killing of trans woman in Argentina [Pink News]

  • 10 police officers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, have been charged in connection with the death of Sofia Fernández, a 39-year-old transgender woman. Fernández was found dead in custody in April 2023 after being arrested on robbery accusations. Her family, who were not allowed to communicate with her during detention, claimed she had no criminal record. Initially reported as a sudden death, an autopsy revealed signs of torture and suffocation. The charges include murder, cover-up, and document falsification.

Federal authorities are investigating attacks on transgender and Latino students in Virginia [Advocate]

  • The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into incidents of violence inVirginia against both transgender and Latino students at Norview High School in Norfolk. The investigation follows reports of harassment and physical assaults that school officials allegedly failed to address adequately.

‘Emilia Pérez’ star sues far-right politician for transphobic comment after her Cannes win [Advocate]

  • Karla Sofía Gascón, who recently made history by becoming the first trans woman to win the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role in Emilia Pérez, has filed a lawsuit against Marion Maréchal. The far-right French politician referred to Gascón’s performance as a “female interpretation”.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

NI law that would have outlawed reporting Savile allegations struck down [Press Gazette]

  • A Northern Ireland law granting anonymity to people suspected of sexual assault allegations before charge, even for 25 years after they die, has been struck down after a successful challenge by the media.

 

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