Translucent. Org. UK responds to Sex Matters’ statement on transgender suicide, arguing that the organization’s claims are harmful and misleading.
Content Warning – Suicide
On the 13th of June 2023, the organisation Sex Matters posted a statement on their website reading:Â Â
Yesterday during the debate on the definition of sex in the Equality Act, Kirsty Blackman MP referred to a trans constituent she said had contacted her:
“When they heard about biological sex being included in the Equality Act and this change being made, they said, ‘What hope is left? Should I just kill myself now and be done with it?'”
Tonia Antionazzi MP had opened the debate calling for members from all parts of the House to “model the respectful, adult conversations that are needed across society. We can demonstrate, here at Westminster, that we can freely express and listen to different opinions.”
Raising suicide threats as a response to legitimate debate about legislation is neither respectful nor responsible.
Suicide threats (“Would you prefer a dead daughter or a live son?”) are an all-too-frequent feature of propaganda about transition. It is often argued that children and young people who identify as transgender are at risk of suicide if not affirmed. This is not backed up by evidence, and the commonly cited studies are weak. Figures from the Tavistock GIDS show that four patients were known or suspected to have died by suicide between 2010 and 2020, out of about 15,000 patients undergoing treatment or on the waiting list. While this rate is higher than for adolescents of similar age, this cohort is known to suffer from mental-health comorbidities that raise the risk of suicide, and the figures shed no light on whether medical transition would reduce that risk.
Spreading alarmism about suicide is unethical. Self-harm and suicidal ideation are known to be contagious. Sensational and excessive reporting has been shown to increase the likelihood of imitational suicidal behaviour among vulnerable people, including young people.
Suicide threats can also be a form of emotional abuse, used as a form of coercive control and manipulation.
TransLucent.Org.UK believes the Sex Matters statement is highly irresponsible.
Most trans suicides are not reported in the press in respect to the families of those who took their lives, but occasionally the media reports. One such case was that of the French teenager known as Fouad. ABC reported:Â
LILLE, France (AP) — About 100 teenagers rallied in northern France on Friday to pay homage to a transgender student who killed herself this week after facing tensions with school officials for wearing a skirt to class, a case that has drawn online indignation and national attention to the issue of gender identity.
The students held a sit-in and a moment of silence outside the entrance to the Fenelon High School in Lille as school started Friday, expressing their anger and distress at the suicide of their classmate Fouad.
France’s minister for diversity, Elisabeth Moreno, tweeted that suicide in the transgender community is seven times the average, adding, “We must absolutely fight transphobia, everywhere.”.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer tweeted, “Fouad’s death challenges our society about everything we must do to ensure that everyone’s rights are respected.”.
The trans health organisation founded in the UK GenderGP, also makes reference to high trans suicide rates.
Sadly transgender people are more likely to commit suicide than cisgender people. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US, 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide at some point.Â
This is significantly higher than the rate of suicide attempts among cisgender people, which is 4.6%.
There are a number of reasons why transgender people are more likely to commit suicide. These include:
- Discrimination:Â Transgender people face discrimination in many areas of their lives, including employment, housing, and healthcare. This discrimination can lead to feelings of isolation, hopelessness, and despair.
- Violence:Â Transgender people are more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people. This violence can be physical, sexual, or verbal. It can lead to physical injuries, emotional trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Stigma:Â Transgender people are often stigmatised and treated as outcasts. This stigma can lead to feelings of shame, guilt, and worthlessness.
In a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, 82% of transgender individuals have considered suicide, also stating that 40% have attempted suicide. Further, an academic study with a sample size of 372 respondents found that 40% of transgender people had attempted suicide.
In March of 2023, Newsweek “fact-checked” trans suicide rates saying: “Meanwhile, a 2018 study of more than 120,000 children age 11 to 19 found that 41.8 per cent of non-binary adolescents—those who do not identify as definitively male or female—had attempted suicide.”
In the acceptance speech of being awarded LGBT Organisation of the Year (NDA 2022), Steph Richards, our CEO, made reference to two trans friends who had taken their own lives.
In reference to these words from Sex Matters: “Tonia Antionazzi MP had opened the debate calling for members from all parts of the House to “model the respectful, adult conversations that are needed across society. We can demonstrate, here at Westminster, that we can freely express and listen to different opinions.”
However, this did not happen because three known supporters of gender critical ideology and Sex Matters.Org, Joanna Cherry MP, Rosie Duffield MP, and Neale Hanvey, MP, reaction to Kirsty Blackman MP’s speech speaks for itself.Â
CW: suicide
MPs last night debated the definition of sex in the Equality Act.
Kirsty Blackman MP told how a trans constituent mentioned thoughts of suicide to her.
The reaction from MPs behind her – Joanna Cherry (centre), Rosie Duffield and Neale Hanvey, – is truly shocking. pic.twitter.com/BWLLf1Tavg
— Equality Network (@LGBTIScotland) June 13, 2023
TransLucent.Org.UK will be writing to each of the respective MP’s party leaders in a complaint.
Trans hate crime in the UK rose by 56% last year, and the psychological effect of continually being attacked by trans-hostile and transphobic forces is daunting, to say the least.Â
It is the opinion of TransLucent.Org.UK that gender-critical organisations, individuals and the right-wing trans-hostile press must accept responsibility for their actions and that, in part, they drive the high trans suicide rate.
In consequence, it is no wonder they do not wish to talk about this highly sensitive issue.Â
