It is appalling that women are being silenced and intimidated in this way. Our fears are legitimate and serious.
I remembered there was a very worrying study that was posted some time ago so have have now managed to find it. It was first published in 2011.
In a study of 56 people seeking sex reassignment surgery, 39 of whom were male, the researchers from Oxford found the following;
Saunders, K., & Bass, C. (2011). Gender reassignment: 5 years of referrals in Oxfordshire. The Psychiatrist, 35(9), 325-327. doi:10.1192/pb.bp.110.032664
The majority of individuals (80%, n = 45) were referred to a specialist centre for gender reassignment (Fig. 2), although only two (4%) have had funding for surgery approved at the time of the study. Three of the sample had or were planning to have surgery abroad, on the basis that services there were more easily accessible and less expensive than in the UK. Reasons for non-referral to a specialist centre included being deemed not ready for transitioning (either determined by the individual or because the person was not currently living in the desired gender role), being homosexual but not having gender identity disorder, having an autism-spectrum disorder with a significant degree of impairment such that the real-life experience criterion was not met, and seeking gender reassignment to facilitate or normalise paedophilia. This latter small group described gender reassignment as a means by which to increase their intimate contact with children, which they viewed to be more socially acceptable in a female role.
I will underline this excerpt; a small group of males were refused referral for sex reassignment surgery because they were seeking gender reassignment to facilitate or normalise paedophilia. This latter small group described gender reassignment as a means by which to increase their intimate contact with children, which they viewed to be more socially acceptable in a female role.
www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-psychiatrist/article/gender-reassignment-5-years-of-referrals-in-oxfordshire/6B5F217162ABD9B3189F2EB82787034E
Male paedophiles were seeking to be seen/ socially accepted as women in order to gain intimate access to children. So yes, this definitely does happen.
I have always wondered and worried about what happened to these men. I hope to god their cards were records we permanently marked so they could never be eligible in the future, but as we know sex reassignment surgery does not have to include removal of a male’s penis.
Not forgetting that these are only the men whose intentions became known, not those men who thought the same but were able to keep it secret.