COMMENT
Time to reject the extreme trans lobby harming our society
Facts matter, and the value of a view is not determined by the strength with which it’s held
LIAM FOX
26 June 2023 • 11:00am
It is incredible how many public figures, including our own Leader of the Opposition, have struggled to answer the simple question, “What is a woman?”. Of course, the truth is that they are almost certainly able to answer the question but are afraid to do so lest they unleash the rage of the increasingly aggressive trans-lobby.
I believe that, in a free society, people are entitled to live their lives in the way that they want, as long as it does not interfere with the freedom, safety and rights of others, particularly those younger and more vulnerable than themselves. That, surely, is a position most Conservatives should support. This must be supplemented with a staunch defence of free speech so that the issues can be openly discussed, by those with widely differing views, without the intimidation and aggressive bullying of the anti-family, anti-women extremists.
We should approach the debate around trans rights with rationality, proportion and compassion.
Rationality because facts matter, and the value of a particular view is not determined by the strength by which it is held but by reference to science and empiricism. Proportion because we cannot let the noise of an angry minority mask the fact that we are talking about a very small number of people in the population whose problems need to be addressed but who have no right to enforce views on the majority with which the majority disagrees or disapproves.
And compassion because behind all the political noise, bullying and intimidation, there are genuine individuals in pain and distress who deserve our sympathy and support.
For me, the most worrying element in the entire trans rights debate is the safety and protection of children. A recent report from the think tank Policy Exchange exposed a neglect of safeguarding at the expense of gender identity. It found that only 28 per cent of schools are reliably informing parents as soon as a child discloses feelings of gender distress and at least 19 per cent of schools are not maintaining single sex toilets.
The report also shows that 72 per cent of schools are teaching that people have a gender identity that may be different from their biological sex and 25 per cent are teaching that some people or children “may be born in the wrong body.”
Clearly, teaching unions and other representative groups should give a lot more thought to the difficult, and personally painful, tasks being faced by many teachers and less weight to the pressures coming from activists.
The medical profession should take note, too. The willingness of many clinicians to rush to agreement for surgical and hormonal treatments may reap a wild whirlwind in the future. There is a real danger that ill-thought through surgical interventions, such as double mastectomy or orchidectomy (castration) or complex hormonal treatments (that may be irreversible), will lead to increased human suffering in the long-term.
We must also protect our right to free speech. The way in which extremists in the trans movement have sought to close down debate, including on safe spaces for women, is nothing less than an attempt at brutal censorship, worthy of the most repressive regimes.
That is why all of us, whatever our views on the subject of trans rights itself, must unite in making it abundantly clear that everyone, celebrity or not, is absolutely entitled to their views and to express them freely in a free society without fear of violence or intimidation.
Proportionate, rational and compassionate debate should be our watchwords alongside a resolute defence of young people and freedom of speech. There is too much at stake to stay silent.
Dr Liam Fox is a former Defence and International Trade Secretary