Transgenderism – Feminist Legal Clinic

Victorian government must review transgender laws | The Australian

All entries on Feminist Legal Clinic’s News Digest Blog are extracts from news articles and other publications, with the source available at the link at the bottom. The content is not originally generated by Feminist Legal Clinic and does not necessarily reflect our views.

The Victorian government is letting down gender-distressed young people and their families by missing its own legislated deadline to have its contentious conversion therapy law reviewed. As Rachel Baxendale reported on Monday, the law is having a chilling effect on the willingness of medical professionals to treat vulnerable children questioning their gender. The Act, which took effect in February 2022, imposes penalties of up to $10,000 in fines or 10 years’ jail for anyone found to have attempted to suppress or change someone’s sexuality or gender. Victorian-based group Parents of Adolescents with Gender Distress say most therapists are now either unwilling to work with gender-distressed youth or under the misapprehension that if they do not automatically affirm a child’s declared gender identity they would find themselves accused of “conversion therapy”.

Premier Jacinta Allan should adhere to the Act by commissioning an independent review, which under the legislation should have started in February 2024 and been completed in six months. The timing is sensitive. Just two months after the Act took effect, the most comprehensive study of gender dysphoria services, conducted by Hilary Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in Britain, found there was no good evidence to support the global clinical practice of prescribing hormones to under-18s to halt puberty or transition to the opposite sex. Dr Cass’s final report has led to a fundamental shift in approach across much of the world, away from medical intervention and towards addressing other mental health problems the young patients may have.

Source: Review Victorian transgender laws

American woman who had breasts cut off as teenager wins $2million payout | GB News

A young woman who had her breasts cut off as a teenager has been granted a $2million payout in what is being cited as a landmark court decision.

Fox Varian decided to have the life-altering “top-surgery”, removing her breasts to become a boy when she was just 16 years old.

The now-22-year-old, who is considered a “detransitioner”, has warned against the “massive medical and social experiment” on youngsters who believe they have been born in the wrong body.

She says the double mastectomy was pushed on her when she was a minor, after approval from psychologist Kenneth Einhorn and surgeon Simon Chin – a jury agreed.

The pair were found to be responsible for ignoring standards of care and procedural guardrails by pressuring the child into handling her gender dysphoria with permanent surgery, the jury in Westchester County Supreme Court decided.

Ms Varian’s mother, Claire Deacon, told the court that she was against the surgery, but didn’t contest it out of fear her daughter would commit suicide, according to The Epoch Times.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk experienced a similar scenario when his son, Xavier, now Vivienne Jenna, transitioned in 2022.

The world’s richest man said he was “tricked” by doctors and told his child would take his own life if he refused to consent to cross-sex hormone treatment.

“There will be thousands more court cases of children who were mutilated by evil doctors. The schools, psychologists, psychiatrists, and state officials who facilitated this will pay dearly, too,” Mr Musk said after Ms Varian’s ruling.

The professionals were told by Ms Varian’s lawyers, however, they should have ensured she did not have other psychological conditions, such as depression, ADHD, autism, or body dysmorphia before urging the surgery.

There are said to be at least 28 compensation cases, similar to Ms Varian’s, that are currently being worked on in the US.

Source: American woman who had breasts cut off as teenager wins $2million payout

Proceedings launched to stop puberty blocker trial | UK

The Bayswater Support Group, Bell & Esses v The HRA and The MHRA (Pathways 2)

This is a judicial review of the authorities behind the Pathways clinical trial of puberty blockers on children: the Health Research Authority and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Our claimants, Bayswater Support Group (who support parents of trans children and young people), Keira Bell (who brought the case against the Tavistock in 2020) and James Esses, (a psychotherapist who campaigns for the ethical treatment of gender dysphoria), are challenging the lawfulness and ethics of this trial of banned drugs on children. ONGOING.

Source: https://www.conrathegardner.com/healthcare

https://x.com/KBtheYoungOG/status/2019682477510406316/photo/1

Doctors’ Group Endorses Restrictions on Gender-Related Surgery for Minors – The New York Times

For the first time, two major medical groups have backed limitations on gender-related surgical treatments for minors in the United States.

The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest organization representing doctors, on Wednesday said these procedures generally should be deferred until patients reach adulthood.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons took a similar position on Tuesday, saying that gender-related surgeries should be delayed until age 19.

The issue has become increasingly fraught as the federal government and some states move to ban medical interventions for adolescents with gender dysphoria.

Until now, most of the nation’s medical groups have opposed efforts to restrict gender-related care, with many calling for evidence-based decisions that consider the specific needs of a patient, no matter their age.

These treatments may include puberty-blocking drugs, hormone therapies and, in rarer cases, surgeries. A review of hospital data from 2016 through 2020 identified about 3,600 patients aged 12 to 18 who had received gender-related surgery. The vast majority were mastectomies.

Source: Doctors’ Group Endorses Restrictions on Gender-Related Surgery for Minors – The New York Times

UN expert concerned by UK failure to enforce Supreme Court ruling on sex-based protections | OHCHR

GENEVA – A UN expert today expressed serious concern over the United Kingdom’s failure to ensure the effective implementation of a landmark Supreme Court judgment clarifying that the term “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.

“The continued absence of clear, updated guidance and effective enforcement measures has resulted in widespread non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling,” said Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. “This situation undermines legal certainty with particularly serious consequences for women and girls.”

The Special Rapporteur welcomed the ruling in her report following her recent visit to the United Kingdom. She recommended that the UK Government ensure that all public and private institutions uphold the Supreme Court ruling , and that it provide the necessary guidance to all segments of society to understand the implications of the ruling.

Nearly one year after the Supreme Court’s ruling of 16 April 2025 in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers, the expert noted that the judgment is yet to be translated into binding guidance or enforced across public authorities and service providers. The expert expressed particular concern that non-compliance appears to extend to government departments and public sector bodies, including the National Health Service, the prison service, universities and schools.

Source: UN expert concerned by UK failure to enforce Supreme Court ruling on sex-based protections | OHCHR

Trans killer’s sex attack on female inmate costs taxpayers in secret deal | Herald Sun

The Allan government has made a secret payout to a female prisoner sexually assaulted by a transgender murderer who had been allowed to move to a women’s jail.

The killer – who was known as Clinton Rintoull at the time of the murder but has since changed names – was moved to the minimum-security Tarrengower female prison after transitioning while serving a 20-year sentence.

Rintoull then sexually assaulted a female inmate in 2022.

It is unclear if Rintoull had male genitalia at that time.

And last week, the government settled a secret lawsuit with the victim for an undisclosed amount, with taxpayers footing the bill over Rintoull’s prison attack.

Rintoull was jailed for 20 years in 2009 for the brutal murder of 19-year-old Sudanese refugee Liep Gony, after saying he was “going to take the town back” by killing blacks.

Rintoull was sentenced to a minimum 16-year term and began the sentence in a male prison, before being moved to Tarrengower near Maldon.

And despite the sexual assault, Rintoull was still freed into the community on parole in 2024.

Rintoull’s new name is not known.

The transgender murderer is one of at least seven biological males to have been transferred from men’s prisons to either female facilities the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre or Tarrengower Prison after transitioning while behind bars between 2003 and 2023.

They include some with a known history of sexual violence.

Source: Trans killer’s sex attack on female inmate costs taxpayers in secret deal

Prominent NYC plastic surgeon defends Epstein files mentions | Advocate.com

Recently released Justice Department records show that Dr. Jess Ting, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who later rose to prominence in transgender medicine, maintained extensive contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein years before Ting became a national figure in gender-affirming care.

The records, released Friday under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, include hundreds of emails documenting a years long relationship between Ting and Epstein that encompassed travel to Epstein’s private island, visits to his homes, coordination of medical care through Epstein’s staff, and direct outreach seeking Epstein’s support for research and for a new transgender surgery program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Ting, who in 2016 became the surgical director of Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, responded in writing to The Advocate, saying his interactions with Epstein were limited.

The emails reviewed by The Advocate show regular, direct contact between Ting and Epstein over multiple years, including after Epstein’s criminal conviction and before his 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.

Several emails describe procedures in informal terms. In one 2010 message, an Epstein associate wrote that Ting had “just did 2 of the girls amazing,” referring to cosmetic work.

Source: Prominent NYC plastic surgeon defends Epstein files mentions | Advocate.com

Consensus shatters – by Bernard Lane – Gender Clinic News

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has become the first major US medical association to adopt a cautious stance on paediatric gender medicine, citing the weak evidence base and potential long-term harm to young people.

In its new position statement, the ASPS recommends “that surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old.”

At least 5,200 American teenage girls had breasts surgically removed as part of a gender transition from 2017 to 2023, according to a Manhattan Institute analysis of insurance claims.

Last month, a young woman named Fox Varian was awarded $2 million in damages for the trans double mastectomy performed on her at age 16. Hers was the first claim by an American detransitioner to reach a jury verdict. There are 27 other known lawsuits filed by US detransitioners, according to journalist Benjamin Ryan.

On February 3, however, the American Medical Association (AMA), a prominent promoter of “gender-affirming care”, reportedly shifted position on trans surgery.

In a statement to National Review, the AMA said “the evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient for us to make a definitive statement … the AMA agrees with ASPS that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.”

Source: Consensus shatters – by Bernard Lane – Gender Clinic News

Prison officer sacked for ‘refusing to use trans prisoners’ pronouns’ | Daily Express

A trainee prison officer was reportedly sacked for “refusing to use incorrect pronouns” when referring to transgender prisoners. David Toshack, a 51-year-old former soldier, claimed he was dismissed with immediate effect and has taken GEOAmey to an employment tribunal.

Christopher Hutton, an instructor at GEOAmey, a British company specialising in prisoner transport for the Ministry of Justice, said at the tribunal in Edinburgh on Monday (February 2) that Mr Toshack was asked to leave a training session on January 7 last year. The 51-year-old allegedly said he would only use sex-based pronouns. He has denied being “hostile” to colleagues over the disagreement.

Speaking about an incident where officers were moving a transgender prisoner who was known to self-harm, Mr Hutton added: “The prison officer had written down ‘he’. The (person in) custody has seen it…and assaulted the officer.”

He continued: “I understand that Mr Toshack has his personal beliefs, but he has to follow the company policy.”

Source: Prison officer sacked for ‘refusing to use trans prisoners’ pronouns’

I’m going to tell the world about Labour’s failure to act on radical trans ideology | Daily Express

Trailblazing nurse Bethany Hutchison spearheaded a stunning legal victory against the NHS and will now warn the world about the dangers of ignoring “biological reality”.

Our story has travelled far beyond Darlington Memorial Hospital. It has become a warning, not just to Britain, but now to America, of what happens when ideology overtakes common sense, safeguarding, and basic human dignity.

For more than two-and-a-half years my colleagues and I asked our NHS Trust (County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust) for something that should never have been up for debate: the right for women to have a female only changing room. Instead, we were told to “broaden our mindset,” get “educated,” and accept a biological male in our private space, or else.

Some of my colleagues, including survivors of abuse, were re-traumatised. All of us were ignored, intimidated and put at further risk.

When the employment tribunal ruled earlier this month that what happened to us was unlawful harassment, that our dignity had been violated, it should never have felt like a groundbreaking victory. But it did. And that fact alone is alarming to say the least.

My message to America is simple: do not wait until your institutions are captured before you start fighting back. Women should never have to go to court to defend biological reality or their right to singlesex spaces.

Source: I’m going to tell the world about Labour’s failure to act on radical trans ideology