Rebecca Smith

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I have strong concerns about artificially delaying puberty, but at the same time, I also want high quality, holistic support for young people who question their gender. The Cass review recommended psychological care as the first port of call for managing gender distress, yet the NHS trial shows a worrying bias towards medicalisation. As a former corporate parent, I am alarmed that looked-after children were over-represented in referrals to the NHS Gender Identity Development Service. At the time, they made up just under 0.6% of the general population, but 5.9% of referrals. For children in care, the transition to adulthood is already a challenging time. They are often more vulnerable to the suggestion that puberty blockers could solve their problems. Despite that, children in care will still be allowed to enrol in any trial. Who will consent to their treatment? The state itself, represented by a corporate parenting board. That blurs the line between child safeguarding and institutional interest. The state is wearing two hats: legal guardian and trial sponsor. Another serious issue is that the trial risks treating young lesbians as if they were born in the wrong body. Shortly before GIDS closed, 74% of teenagers referred to the clinic were girls. Most identified as lesbian or bisexual. Almost 70% said that they were attracted only to other girls, and 20% that they were attracted to both sexes. Yet in recent years, some young women have been encouraged to identify as trans rather than lesbian, and my view is that the trial will only reinforce that belief. Lastly, at least 64 patients from the Tavistock clinic returned to living as their birth sex between 2010 and 2020. Detransitioners face huge social pressure to stay silent about their experiences, so I conclude by quoting the brave detransitioner Keira Bell, who said: “The state assisted me in destroying my body during a period of distress. I was a tomboy who came out of an abusive, neglectful environment with a lack of positive role models, and I struggled with my sexuality. Stopping children’s brains and bodies from developing is not a solution, nor is it healthcare. It’s like giving Ozempic to an anorexic or alcohol to an alcoholic.” We need a permanent end to the trial, not just a pause. Otherwise, even more young people will be left asking the same question: why did no one stop me?