Something momentous happened this week.
In conjunction with Victorian MPs Bev McArthur, David Limbrick and others, Women’s Forum Australia helped bring together an extraordinary group of detransitioners, parents, medical and legal experts for a landmark forum at the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday night, to address the harms of medicalised gender affirmation practices on minors and the need for an urgent inquiry into such practices.
Panel from left to right: Jay Langadinos, Mel Jeffries, Dr Jillian Spencer, Dr Peter Parry, Dr Mei Ling Doery.
David Limbrick MP introducing the event.
Child Psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer.
A parent of a child with gender dysphoria makes a comment during Senior Counsel Mark Sneddon's presentation.
Speakers included Dr Mei Ling Doery who emceed and helped drive the event, Dr Jillian Spencer (child psychiatrist), Dr Dylan Wilson (paediatrician), Associate Professor Dr Peter Parry (child and adolescent psychiatrist), Emeritus Law Professor Patrick Parkinson, Special Counsel Mark Sneddon, and incredibly brave detransitioners, Mel Jeffries and Jay Langadinos.
It was a full house, with the event attended by MPs, media, academics, advocates, parents and other interested stakeholders.
Women’s Forum Australia Research Fellow Stephanie Bastiaan spoke about the event with Andrew Bolt on Sky News, expressing her disappointment at how "politicians are waiting until there are more damaged people from these practices before they finally have the courage to stand up and do something about it."
Unsurprisingly, the most powerful speakers were Mel and Jay, who among other things, spoke about how the medical system failed them by putting them on the gender affirmation conveyor belt without properly addressing their childhood trauma and underlying mental health issues.
Jay, who has had both her breasts and womb removed as part of ‘gender affirming care' is currently suing her psychiatrist for professional negligence. And Mel, who also suffers the scars of her double mastectomy and more, significantly raised the profile of detransitioners in Australia with her recent appearance on 7NEWS Spotlight.
Owing to social contagion, the hyper-sexualisation of our culture, backgrounds of sexual abuse, and comorbid health issues, young women and girls are overwhelming overrepresented when it comes to those presenting with gender dysphoria.
It is shameful that these serious issues have been ignored by our governments, media, medical profession and academic institutions in favour of an ideology which promotes the lie that human beings can change sex.
This is why Women’s Forum Australia and other advocates, medical professionals, detransitioners, parents and politicians are calling for an urgent inquiry into the medicalised gender affirmation of minors, both at the state and national level.
On the 18th of October, Moira Deeming MP, who attended the forum, will be using her debate time in the Victorian Parliament to call for such an inquiry.
Together, we will help ensure that these vulnerable children get the genuine care and support they deserve.
**The talks from the event will be available online soon, so stay tuned.**
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.
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