LGBT lobby trying to ‘shut down debate’
The Minister for Women’s caution over treatments for children is common sense, not bigotry
Transgender activists have been accused of attempting to shut down debate, with Victoria Atkins, the women’s minister, facing a backlash after saying that she is “a little cautious” about the number of teenagers undergoing gender reassignment. She warned in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that a rising number of teenagers were seeking “life-changing” medical interventions. Tim Loughton, a Tory MP and former children’s minister, said: “My concern is that those who have a political agenda seem to want to sacrifice the welfare of children on the altar of political correctness.”
TRANSGENDER activists have been accused of attempting to shut down debate, as a former children’s minister said the welfare of young people was being “sacrificed on the altar of political correctness”.
Victoria Atkins, the women’s minister, is facing a backlash after saying that she is “a little cautious” about the number of teenagers undergoing gender reassignment treatment.
Ms Atkins warned in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that the country needs to be “particularly alert” to the issue and expressed concern that a rising number of teenagers were seeking “life-changing” medical interventions.
LGBT+ campaigners accused her of making “damaging” comments and warned that “people’s lives are at stake”.
Tim Loughton, a Tory MP and former children’s minister, said that Ms Atkins is “absolutely right” to be cautious about children “rushing” to change their genders.
“Nobody is trying to suppress the right of young people to express themselves and their sexuality in any way,” he said. “Of course we should be cautious and give them all the support they need on life-changing decisions about their gender.
“My concern is that those who have a political agenda seem to want to sacrifice the welfare of children on the altar of political correctness and equalities whereas every child needs to be respected and supported in their own right. This is about individuals, not other people’s agendas.”
Politicians and academics have expressed concern about the way in which the “transgender lobby” is so quick to close down discussions. James Caspian, a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender people, said: “What’s so incredible is that if anyone says anything critical about transgender issues, this lobby comes out and just attacks the people who are saying it rather than taking on board what they are saying and discussing it.”
Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at Kent University, added: “There is an assumption that there’s only one truth, one story you can tell and anyone who raises doubt or caution is immediately dismissed as a vio- lator of human rights. It indicates that this is beyond discussion and all you can do is nod your head and shut up. In a democratic society that sets a very dangerous precedent”.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-mogg said: “The point of free speech is that people have to be allowed to say things that you do not agree with.”
Figures released by the Tavistock Clinic, the only NHS unit specialising in child gender issues, show that in 2017 to 2018 it received 2,519 referrals, compared with just 314 in 2012 to 2013.
Well done, Victoria Atkins. The minister for women and equality, in a Telegraph interview, has talked about the sharp rise in the number of children – and girls, in particular – being referred to the NHS over gender issues, a journey that can take them on to use of puberty-blocking drugs, hormone treatments and, later in life, surgery.
Mrs Atkins surely spoke for a great many people, not least parents, when she said she was “a little cautious” of the use of medical treatments that have potential consequences for the rest of a child’s life.
Why does Mrs Atkins deserve praise for saying these things? Is it not the job of a minister to address issues of public importance, to weigh the evidence, and then to explain such matters to the people in whose name she governs? In most other areas of policy, comments such as Mrs Atkins’ would merit neither praise here nor the front-page headlines they won yesterday. But the “debate” about people changing their gender isn’t like the rest of politics.
This is an area where doubts, criticisms and even simple questions are suppressed and silenced. Where people who have concerns and queries about things that affect their lives, families and rights are often left scared to speak. It is the silencing of debate that led me to start researching this topic earlier this year; in almost 20 years at Westminster, I’d never come across an issue where so many senior people were so reluctant to air publicly their private concerns.
What silences MPS, ministers, senior journalists and others in positions of power? A very effective and passionate campaign to advocate “trans rights”, a campaign that labels anyone who asks questions or raises doubts “transphobic” or bigoted. In a tolerant country, that charge has real power. Decent people who would never dream of discriminating against another person because of their race or sexuality naturally shy away from being accused of what is said to be a comparable form of nastiness. Especially when those accusations are made by well-funded advocacy groups that enjoy the support of many public sector bodies, big companies and media outlets, some of which suspend the normal rules of journalism here.
The effectiveness of this silencing campaign can be seen at Westminster and far beyond. In the political world, I know many MPS who have questions about things like the dramatic rise in the number of gender-variant children. I also know those who worry about government proposals to allow people to legally change their gender without a medical diagnosis, a system of “self-identification” that could allow any male-born person (still in possession of full male anatomy) to get the legal right to access “women-only” spaces and services, to compete in women’s sporting contests and enter women’s colleges.
Yet only a handful of those MPS have ever raised their doubts in public; those who have, such as Caroline Flint and Anna Turley (both Labour, but Tories are worried, too), faced sustained abuse on social media. Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was called a bigot for a single message on Twitter defending the right of users of the Mumsnet website to debate this issue freely. Last month, a Cabinet minister told me: “There are real issues here, and I’d like to speak about them, but frankly I’m scared to.”
And if the chilling effect is so severe at Westminster, you can imagine how it affects “ordinary” people. Since I started researching this issue in January, I’ve been contacted by dozens of people who say they are worried about the wellbeing of children, or about the way changes in the law will affect their legal rights, but don’t dare speak. Some have been mobbed on social media, where threats of violence against women who question transgenderism are routine. Some have found messages sent to their employers or families accusing them of bigotry. Most of this intimidation is directed at women; public meetings of women’s groups to debate this issue face violent protests, abusive graffiti, online harassment and, in one case, a bomb threat.
All this for asking questions like: why are so many young girls saying they want to be boys, to bind up their breasts and take potentially lifechanging drugs? Even the worldleading experts of the NHS say the evidence to answer that question is still equivocal and extremely limited. Doctors such as Polly Carmichael of the Tavistock and Portman Gender Identity Clinic say there are many possible explanations, including greater social understanding and an internet culture that makes it easy for children to see examples of others changing gender. They also point out that a significant number of children who initially present as transgender may, in time, take a different view. That is why doctors resist pressure from parents and campaign groups to accelerate children to physical treatment, for which they too are sometimes accused of transphobia.
The “caution” Mrs Atkins spoke of is not transphobia, just common sense. By speaking as she has, the minister has done her job and served the public interest. Others in politics should follow her example and speak out, too.
FOLLOW James Kirkup on Twitter @jameskirkup; READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion