Panorama 25 Feb 20.30hrs: Trans Kids: Why Medicine Matters **Thread title edited by MNHQ**

[TimeLady]

"More young people than ever are exploring their gender identity. Last year, two and a half thousand under-eighteens were referred to NHS England's gender identity clinics for support. Some are hoping to get access to potentially irreversible treatments as soon as they can. Doctors are divided about the best way to help."

"Dr Faye Kirkland investigates how much we understand about the care being offered to transgender children."

Helen Webberley is so far beyond ethical practice. If I treated people with such serious medication because I thought I was right, regardless of evidence base , even if they were desperate I would not go against best practice in such a reckless way, prescribing outside of my competence area.

jade had a traumatic childhood

colour me surprised

This is pretty fast paced - I guess they’ve only got half an hour. But it’s leading to a very rushed feeling with no time to challenge various statements.

Jade needs somebody to affirm they can be who they are, by which I mean a creative, colourful young person, who wants to be gentle and loving and to perform and have their own personality. Not a conversation with an older grooming person telling them that they might self harm if they don't get affirmed.

Finally onto fake suicide stats!

There will never be enough time.

The part where they said the biggest increase in trans kids was in young girls wanting to be boys, but no one knows why; I thought straight away it’s because they’ve been abused.

Rueben from Leicester LGBT group seems very good so far.

If a child is presenting in severe distress saying they cannot bear what's happening to their body while they're on the waiting list for specialist services - isn't the gap to be providing urgent help to those children to cope better with those feelings and with their body? Does it really have to be nothing at all or immediate provision of blockers/hormones?

Although, accepted, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence including from Tavistock about children being coached on what to say and what buttons to push to get past anything that looks like gatekeeping, and that support to address those feelings would be seen as a barrier to overcome to get to the wanted medication.

It feels like the tide is beginning to slightly turn

‘Over at the Tavistock centre, some clinicians have resigned’

Some? Plural?

Suicide stats...I've given up and put on University Challenge. Looking forward to someone telling me they questioned these.....

Glad they're raising the concerns. I wonder what the public will make of the fact that whistleblowers at the Tavistock are being kept anonymous, like people testifying against the mafia.

Challenging self harm and suicide stats now. Professional opinions silenced and clinicians pressured into affirmation and medical intervention rather than research. Demanding independent enquiry.

It's a step in the right direction, but it's very much still the BBC.

This is a real problem though - with everything from the Tavistock - to women's organisations - to the Labour party. The decent, ethical people are resigning - and leaving.... what? The trans ideologists. The ones who don't care about safeguarding.

I really don’t think we would have had a programme like this even 2 months ago. Lots of questions and explaining lack of evidence.
Feels like things are changing....
Everybody Pullll

Surprised at how many people aren't able to speak out !

and leaving.... what? The trans ideologists. The ones who don't care about safeguarding.

And when they think they are above the law the forget about keeping up appearances and we get gaps, holes and cracks.

I just want to give Jade a huge hug.

At the start of all the stories so far are rigid gender stereotypes.

Ffs angel Gabriel was a man! Poor jade could have been an angel. It sounds like Jade's been sensible and waited.

Have to sleep, watching the rest tomorrow.

Argh my Sky was saying on at 9 just turned on and it's finished!

Interesting that the doctor said basically no doctors want to work with transgender people now because they just get criticised when they're trying to provide care. Trans charities (pressure groups) should hang their heads in shame, they have failed the people they were meant to support in the worst possible way.

I'd like to have heard more from Reuben, they came across well.

I thought that was pretty damning (for the BBC) - how anyone can think that it is okay to do a live experiment on children is beyond me!!

It really does sound like the tide is turning, people are questioning this more and more.

Sport (thanks Martina) and medicalising children - I always thought that these would be the things that would blow this debate wide open.