“As trans youth, our rights are constantly violated. Our health and safety are put in jeopardy and our very existence is demonised”
BY NANCY KELLEY, IMAGE BY INKDROP
Yesterday, the government extended the emergency order banning the private sale or prescription of puberty blockers that was introduced by the former Conservative government. Extended it in time – the new order will expire on 26 November, and in scope – the order now covers Northern Ireland, which had been exempt from the original ban. Publication came with a whimper, not a bang: a link to the homepage of the National Referral Support Service for NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Services, and a link to defunct General Pharmaceutical Council guidance, published in May 2024 before the ban came into effect.
So despite the British Medical Association calling for a pause on implementation of the Cass Review while it conducts a critical appraisal, despite an impressive range of international expert bodies distancing themselves from the Review and its recommendations, and despite widespread criticism of this approach by charities, community groups and most importantly trans+ youth themselves, the Labour government is pressing forward with the same approach to trans+ health care as its Conservative predecessors. There will be no new prescriptions of puberty blockers outside of a research study that does not yet exist (and at the time of writing has not cleared the required design, ethical approval and funding hurdles).
When Labour campaigned on a “time for change” ticket, it evidently did not mean time for a change in approach to trans+ healthcare.
Today, a group of trans+ children are staging a direct action at the Department for Education. The Trans Kids Deserve Better youth-led action network has one goal: for trans+ youth in the UK to be heard and respected, instead of treated like political pawns. They want change.
Their first action sought to challenge the government to take a different approach to trans+ healthcare. Clearly, nobody listened. In fact, you may not have heard about it because the media studiously ignored a group of trans+ children scaling and occupying a government building for four days straight.
In today’s action, the Trans Kids Deserve Better group is once again challenging the government to take a different approach: this time on trans+ inclusion in schools. Conservative policy consultations on ”gender questioning” children in schools and on relationships and sex education would create a hostile environment for trans+ children in schools, as damaging as Section 28 (the infamous 1988 – 2003 law, introduced by a Conservative government, which banned local authorities and schools from “the promotion of homosexuality”). Will Labour again follow the Conservative culture war lead?
Trans Kids Deserve Better are calling for genuine leadership from the government: a commitment to building safe and inclusive school environments for all trans+ children. They want trans+ children to be able to make their own decisions about social transition, transphobic bullying, and harassment to be tackled, and an inclusive curriculum, reflecting trans+ lives and experiences.
“As trans youth, our rights are constantly violated. Our health and safety are put in jeopardy and our very existence is demonised – in policy and in practice, everywhere from our schools to our doctors’ offices,” said one of the teenage activists staging the protest. “It is unacceptable that 10% of trans children are bullied every day and 54% experienced bullying at least once in the last year. Our lives and our education are at stake, and we unfortunately must take action to remind politicians and policymakers that we’re real kids, and we deserve safety, respect and representation at school.”
Trans Kids Deserve Better. They absolutely do. They deserve a government that listens.
Visit transkidsdeservebetter.org and follow @transkidsdeservebetter on Instagram
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