We have some excellent news.
Last week, we wrote about how the World Health Organisation (WHO) had appointed a committee of activists to rush through a controversial new gender guideline with minimal consultation.
The focus of the new guideline is to be on the provision of "gender affirming care" and "legal recognition of self-determined gender identity" – which the WHO has incorrectly assumed are positive steps to promote public health.
Women’s Forum Australia and other concerned parties called on the WHO to address its flawed guideline development process. We also wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, calling on the Australian Government to raise concerns with the WHO, on behalf of all Australians.
And after international pressure calling out the rushed and biased process around the development of the guideline, the WHO has taken some positive steps:
1. It has extended its deadline for public feedback until 2 February 2024;
2. It has quietly removed radical trans-identified male activist Florence Ashley (who believes “unbounded social transition and ready access to puberty blockers ought to be treated as the default option” for children with gender dysphoria) from the guideline development group; and
3. It has clarified that it won’t be making any recommendations for children and adolescents, saying “the evidence base for children and adolescents is limited and variable regarding the longer-term outcomes of gender affirming care”.
The third development, in particular, is a HUGE win when it comes to protecting children against an ideology that is causing irreversible damage via harmful hormonal and surgical interventions.
We are grateful to the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, Genspect, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem, and everyone who has been raising the alarm on this and contacting the WHO with their concerns.
But we need to keep the pressure on – the extension is only brief, and the panel is still stacked with activists.
If you haven't already, please email the WHO with your concerns at [email protected] and encourage your government representatives to do the same.
Women’s Forum Australia is an independent think tank that undertakes research, education and public policy advocacy on issues affecting women and girls, with a particular focus on addressing behaviours and practices that are harmful and abusive to them. We are a non-partisan, non-religious, tax-deductible charity. We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on donations to make an impact. Support our work today.
| I’ll stand with women ▷ |