Suicide rates of trans kids is a ‘national scandal’, says charity Mermaids

[Doyoumind]

I can't even bring myself to comment.

www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/09/10/world-suicide-prevention-day-mermaids-trans-kids-gender-recognition-act

Back to that desperate lie?

I've never yet seen statistics backing this up, and in contrast the Tavistock say suicide is very, very rare.

Comorbidity is never mentioned - anorexia and autism to mention just two carry far higher born out statistical risk.

Strategies for wellbeing that rely on other people validating, taking all responsibility for your happiness, lying and jumping hoops to keep you happy - a) this is not supposed to be a mental illness, Mermaid seems to be throwing doubt on this and b) are not strategies used by anyone else in any situations ever and regarded as actively unhealthy.

Other people matter too. So does their freedom of belief, independence of thought, safeguarding, single sex spaces and human rights.

Archived link;
<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/save/www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/09/10/world-suicide-prevention-day-mermaids-trans-kids-gender-recognition-act/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">web.archive.org/save/www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/09/10/world-suicide-prevention-day-mermaids-trans-kids-gender-recognition-act/

Are they misrepresenting stats again? www.transgendertrend.com/a-scientist-reviews-transgender-suicide-stats/

I see 3 main problems with the article;
It posits that transitioning is a cure for high suicide rates, but without any evidence to back up that claim.

It posits that the suicide rate amongst children is high, but again without any evidence to back up that claim.

It goes against the Samaritan guidelines for reporting suicide.
www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/media-guidelines/best-practice-suicide-reporting-tips/

Ffs

She has never ever backed this up.

And you know what even if it were true, would any self respecting therapist really prescribe any kind if treatment/action that relied solely on complete strangers going along with it. Compelling everyone around you to lie.

That would be like banning off licenses from selling alcohol. Or hospitals and drs never prescribing medication.

That's not how therapy or medicine works is it?

I'm so sick of them using children and weaponising suicide in this way.

No evidence. This is a low even for them.

Well mermaids have been exposed as spreading lies and propeganda

I saw a video the other day, which I can't find now, of a young woman who had breast removal thinking it would relieve her dysphoria. The only problem is that the dysphoria moved to different things like the non muscly arms, the scraggly beard and the genitals. She thought breast removal would be the thing that made her happy but all that happened was the goalposts changed.

Surely trying to get kids to accept their bodies is the way forward.

Agreed Ginger.

The irony of Stonewall's 'acceptance without exception' is not lost.

But far easier to tell girls to slice off their breasts and thatsociety values boys more rather than girls.

The only problem is that the dysphoria moved to different things

Yes, I've seen this - that they pin everything on surgery curing them, and after the initial euphoria has worn off, they discover they're not cured (because there was nothing wrong with their body in the first place, so why would they be), and feel even worse.

Note that this is for people rushed into it. I'd imagine that if, after a lot of therapy, you find that you can't just get over some body part, and have surgery to change it, then you'd feel better, you'd feel relief - but you have to be really sure that it's the body part that's the problem, not that it's a focus for a different problem entirely.

Oh dear. With the GIDS clinic under media pressure to publish their long term study results, which, judging by the interim conclusions, will be directly opposed to this, I can see a big clash coming up.

Making claims that you can't back up, are easily refuted and should be directly addressed by the results of the long-term study, is not the way to recover your 'controversial' reputation.

They just look like zealots. Especially telling the public at large that unless you affirm that certain children are neither male or female, they'll kill themselves.

”demands gender diversity training be made compulsory for police, doctors and teachers in the UK.

They also want it to be a legal requirement for the NHS, particularly GIDS – the gender identity clinic for under-18’s in London – to adopt an affirmative approach to healthcare for trans kids.”

This is just an unsubtle attempt at a land grab. Is there any context given to the suicide rates? Or do they just throw random figures and rely on the fact that nobody will check.

This is simply untrue. All the stats you could ever want are in the Office for National Statistics. Suicide rates in general are decreasing (except oddly in much older generations 85years plus)
Childrens suicide rates have increased slightly from memory 112 in 1981 to nearly 200 in 2017. It sounds like a huge jump but that's covering over 30 years and a huge increase in population. A child here is 10 years old and over.
Possibly there has been a big jump in the last year but stats aren't available yet and in have seen nothing in the news. And often there will be a reason for a spike, so it's not a stand alone figure.

Scottish Trans, in their survey of 60 transgender people, listed attempts at suicide by the partners of transgender people as a form of emotional abuse.
www.scottishtrans.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/trans_domestic_abuse.pdf

Attempted suicide/threats of suicide/self harm by partners of transgender people = controlling and manipulative (according to Scottish Trans).
Exaggerated reports of attempted suicide/threats of suicide by transgender people = ???

I saw a video the other day, which I can't find now, of a young woman who had breast removal thinking it would relieve her dysphoria. The only problem is that the dysphoria moved to different things like the non muscly arms, the scraggly beard and the genitals. She thought breast removal would be the thing that made her happy but all that happened was the goalposts changed.
I have clinical experience of similar. Fortunately, at the time we were able to refer to psychologists before agreeing to NHS treatment. Sadly, I believe the cuts to funding for NHS psychology mean it is harder to refer to.

I saw a video the other day, which I can't find now, of a young woman who had breast removal thinking it would relieve her dysphoria.

Was it this one? Jake Edwards, Mermaids' new 'social media creator'.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3687865-Just-when-you-think-Mermaids-cant-get-any-worse

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3687760-New-Communications-Assistant-at-Mermaids

twitter.com/Mermaids_Gender/status/1170019010936750080

Where's the long term data for the mental health of those who have transitioned as children?

I thought the propaganda was to say that non of this was related to mental health problems.
Mentally healthy people do not commit suicide.
All they do by spreading these lies is exposing vulnerable people to the idea that they 'should' be suicidal, it is irresponsible to the extreme even if it was true.
I wish the Samaritans would call them out on it it is disgusting behaviour and even worse for PinkNews to be reporting on it in this way.

It goes against the Samaritan guidelines for reporting suicide.

Yes. Doubly crass on National Suicide Prevention Day. Suicide contagion is a well known social phenomenon.

Didnt someone do a google search for case studies ( which there would be if 50 percent of people were commiting suicide) only find about three. And one of those was the kids of a parent who had transitioned...

I'm sure the Tavistock said there had been one child suicide in 10 years.

I'd be interested to know the impact of Mermaids et al telling children that an integral part of their trans identity is suicidal ideation.

Where are their stats and studies?

In particular where is there evidence to show trans kids commit suicide pre/during transition, or after it? I.e is the suicide due to not being accepted as the new gender, or is it due to making all the changes, realising that they’re still not happy, but now they’re tied to a damaged physicality and can’t go back?

I deal with mh and suicides daily. I do not collect stats but I’ve been doing this job 5 years now and have not seen one trans suicide, or even attempt suicide, out of the two or three suicides per week and countless attempts.

Didn't the Tavistock say that transitioning actually increased gender dysphoria?