On May 21, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) published an article by Catherine Llewellyn titled "Does the gender-affirming model provide trans youth the healthcare they need? There are good reasons to think it doesn’t."
The article, among other things:
recited a lot of debunked claims about the effectiveness of gender-affirming treatment for young trans people
claimed that banning conversion therapy was evidence that Australian governments were embracing "gender ideology"
claimed that "the replacement of 'sex' with 'gender' as a protected characteristic in anti-discrimination legislation" was evidence of embracing "gender ideology"
repeats the tired "irreversible damage" myths
overstates the prevalence and severity of puberty blocker and HRT side effects
misleadingly cites studies, cites outdated studies, cites blog posts as evidence, etc.
cites anti-trans organisations and groups like Genspect (designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) as evidence that the government prioritises trans people over detransitioners
calls gender-affirming care for trans youth "ideological coercion"
I and many other Australian trans people made complaints to the ABC about these issues. Today, I received a response.
After recent events like Queensland's indefinite ban on puberty blockers and hormones for under 18s (and pushes to extend this ban to the rest of the country), this article should be very concerning. The ABC has a huge audience/platform and most people view it as an unbiased source of news (not true obviously, but that's the general opinion). The article was on the site's front page for a while as a recommended read.
I don't know what to do about this. It feels like a repeat of that BBC article about "lesbians being pressured into sex by trans women". Australia seems to be sliding in the same direction as the USA and UK, and I'm scared. There doesn't seem to be a way to dispute the ombudsman's ruling on the article. What can we even do?
Australian (and non-Australian) folk, please advise & rb for reach :/
USAmerican people can reblog this but don't clown in my notes
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