Written evidence from The Christian Institute [GRA1621] Women and Equalities Committee – Reform of the Gender Recognition Act inquiry Introduction The Christian Institute exists for “the furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom”. We are a nondenominational Christian charity supported by over 50,000 individuals and churches throughout the UK. We hold to the mainstream Christian belief that people are made male or female in God’s image. Will the Government’s proposed changes meet its aim of making the process “kinder and more straight forward”? The Committee’s Call for Evidence wrongly implies that making the gender recognition process more “straight forward” is to make it “kinder”. A kinder process would be far more cautious about the claims of applicants. A growing number of vulnerable young people are identifying as transgender. They may sincerely believe that they are the opposite sex, but that belief is unlikely to last. These individuals need careful and cautious assessment. It would be a huge mistake for the law to validate their belief. It is not kind to lead young people towards a decision they could regret for the rest of their lives. There are many who once identified as transgender but now look at a more “straight forward” process as being less kind and more damaging. Scottish detransitioner Sinead Watson, for example, describes a self-declaration system as “dangerous”.1 Should the requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria be removed? Should there be changes to the requirement for individuals to have lived in their acquired gender for at least two years? Removing the current requirements from the Gender Recognition Act 2004 would have serious consequences. These safeguards should be retained or strengthened. Jeopardising the safety of vulnerable young people The rapid rise in young people identifying as transgender is well known. The 3,000% increase in gender dysphoria referrals to the Gender Identity Clinic is only the tip of the iceberg.2 There is a much broader trend affecting both children and young adults, involving a growing range of ‘gender identities’. 1 BBC Scotland, The Nine, ‘Gender Recognition Act: Sinead’s story’, 10 February 2020, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p082wx9n as at 27 November 2020 2 ‘Referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) level off in 2018-19’, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, 28 June 2019, see https://tavistockandportman.nhs.uk/about- us/news/stories/referrals-gender-identity-development-service-gids-level-2018-19/ as at 27 November 2020; ‘Referrals to GIDS, financial years 2015-16 to 2019-20’, Gender Identity Development Service, see https://gids.nhs.uk/number-referrals as at 27 November 2020 Written evidence from The Christian Institute [GRA1621] The view that “you don’t need dysphoria to be trans”3 is prominent in online trans networks. People see crises of identity, trauma, body dysmorphia or other mental illness as evidence of being trans. Many would seize the opportunity for affirmation that a self-declaration system would present. Changing the law to drop the diagnosis requirement would make legal endorsement available to those who would be most harmed by it. They need help facing their problems, not encouragement in a false self-diagnosis. The current wave of detransitioners suggests many of them will come to regret their transgender identity. Proper assessment is vital. The requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria by two doctors must be retained. The requirement to live in the ‘acquired sex’ should also be retained, and even extended, to protect vulnerable individuals. It is crucial to give enough time for genuine reflection and reconsideration. Some transgender people now feel trapped in the opposite sex, and resent the fact that they were affirmed too quickly.4 It often takes years for people to decide to reverse their sex change, not least because of the ‘honeymoon phase’ that often follows social or medical transition.5 The following cases highlight how long it can take regret to develop: Scottish detransitioner Sinead Watson took testosterone from 2015 after a 12-13 month waiting list, and received a double mastectomy in 2017. She describes an immediate “period of bliss” and believes she would have continued pursuing surgery had she not realised that transition was not addressing her underlying problems. She marks the beginning of her regret to her 27th birthday in January 2018. From the beginning of her transition until the decision to reverse took around three years.6 The English detransitioner and founder of the Detransition Advocacy Network, Charlie Evans, identified as a man for nearly ten years before detransitioning.7 ‘Pique Resilience Project’ is a group of four American young women who used to identify as transgender: Dagny identified as non-binary and as a trans man from age 15 to 19, receiving testosterone for two years before deciding to detransition. Jesse identified as a trans man from age 16 to 19, and as non-binary both at age 15 and 19. She received testosterone for 14 months before detransitioning. 3 ‘You Don’t Need Dysphoria to Be Trans’, Eli Erlick, YouTube, 12 November 2018, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC7LgV9duHc as at 27 November 2020; ‘Expert Q & A: Gender Dysphoria’, American Psychiatric Association, see https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender- dysphoria/expert-q-and-a as 27 November 2020 4 The Sunday Times, 12 July 2020, see https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-detransitioners-what-happens- when-trans-men-want-to-be-women-again-fd22b7jhs as at 27 November 2020 5 Board of Directors Part One Agenda and papers, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, 23 June 2015, , pages 49-55; BBC Scotland, The Nine, ‘Gender Recognition Act: Sinead’s story’, 10 February 2020, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p082wx9n as at 27 November 2020; BBC News online, 1 March 2020, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51676020 as at 27 November 2020; Anonymous, ‘Our Voices Our Selves – Amplifying the Voices of Detransitioned Women’, in Moore, M and Brunskell-Evans, H (Eds.) Inventing Transgender Children and Young People, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019, page 172 6 ‘What the Hormones Didn’t Change | a Detrans Story, with Watson,’ Benjamin A Boyce, YouTube, 14 January 2020, see https://youtu.be/M0zWaNdkp7Y as at 27 November 2020 7 Sky News, , 5 October 2019, see https://news.sky.com/story/hundreds-of-young-trans-people-seeking-help- to-return-to-original-sex-11827740 as at 27 November 2020 Written evidence from The Christian Institute [GRA1621] Helena identified as non-binary and transgender as a teenager, received testosterone aged 18 and 19 before detransitioning. Chiara identified as a trans man from ages 16 to 19 before desisting.8 Danger to women A self-declaration system is a danger to women. It inevitably undermines female-only spaces. The prison service’s use of self-identification meant a legal and physical male – a known sex abuser – was in a women’s prison, enabling him to commit two sexual assaults.9 This case encapsulates the risks of a system without the safeguards in the 2004 Act. Abolishing ‘man’ and ‘woman’ A legal sex change under the 2004 Act requires evidence of 1) the presence of gender dysphoria, and 2) a two-year commitment to ‘living in the acquired sex’. So a biological male can be legally considered a woman if he has both the alleged internal experience and the external performance of a woman. This radical redefinition separated legal sex from biology. Getting rid of the current requirements would go even further. Legal sex would not be defined by objective biology, internal experience or external performance. A self-declaration system would effectively abolish male and female. The Scottish Government’s draft Bill is a clear example of this. Under the Bill, being a ‘man’ or being a ‘woman’ in Scotland will be open to anyone who says they intend to be a ‘man’ or ‘woman’ for life.10 If man and woman are defined according to intention alone, the categories are meaningless. Should the age limit at which people can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) be lowered? The minimum age for applying for a GRC must not be reduced. It would be dangerous because of the immaturity of under-18s (reflected in other laws) and the current social context outlined above. The recent rise in trans-identification mainly involves young people. Cognitive development Those under 18 are still developing in significant ways. They may be experiencing intense gender dysphoria and have strong convictions about legal recognition, but many cannot think critically about why they feel this and how it might be resolved. The University of Rochester’s Health Encyclopedia says that 16-year-olds “may be able to use logical operations in schoolwork long before they can use them for personal problems” and “when emotional issues come up, they can cause problems with a child’s ability to think in complex ways”.11 8 ‘About’, Pique Resilience Project, see https://www.piqueresproject.com/about.html as at 27 November 2020 9 The Guardian online, 11 October 2018, see https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/11/karen-white- how-manipulative-and-controlling-offender-attacked-again-transgender-prison as at 27 November 2020 10 Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill [CONSULTATION DRAFT], December 2019, Section 4 11 ‘Cognitive Development in the Teen Years’, University of Rochester Medical Center Health Encyclopedia, see https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01594 as at 27 Written evidence from The Christian Institute [GRA1621] Recent evidence takes this further. The Scottish Sentencing Council commissioned research into the cognitive maturity of younger people.