Trans Kids Deserve Better group holds “die-in” protest at London’s Victoria Station
Trans kids staged a “die-in” at London’s busiest train station on Wednesday in protest of the U.K. Labour government’s extension of a ban on puberty blockers on the day the ban was set to take effect.
One protester described the consequences as “devastating” for trans youth.
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“We are standing out here today because we should not have to die for people to start listening,” the activist said. “We are standing out here today as a reminder of the strength and hope that flows through our community.”
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A total of 16 young trans people staged the protest at London’s Victoria Station following Labour’s extension of a ban first implemented by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government in May.
The Labour government’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, extended the ruling after Labour won a landslide victory in July’s general election, elevating party leader Keir Starmer to Prime Minister.
Members of Trans Kids Deserve Better arrayed themselves on the floor of the busy transit hub surrounded by cardboard “headstones” inscribed with their demands and wishes for their future.
At a simultaneous demonstration outside the nearby Department of Health and Social Care, a spokesperson for the group said, “Today, the extension of the puberty blockers ban comes into force. This cruel decision was made by Wes Streeting, despite having met with trans youth and their families in this very building.”
Following his meeting with a group of trans youth earlier this month, Streeter declined to reverse the government’s decision to extend the ban. The UK’s National Health Service has described the effects of puberty blockers as reversible.
“Trans kids are being bullied by our government under the guise of the flawed and biased Cass Review but we continue to resist through our very existence,” the group said in a statement.
The Cass Review, a 400-page independent review of medical research on gender-affirming care for youth issued in April, claims there isn’t enough data to conclude gender-affirming care is good for trans kids. Sunak’s government issued the ban on puberty blockers in the aftermath. Transgender advocates were incensed over the report’s conclusions and noted that it excluded numerous studies that demonstrate contradict its central claim.
The review, commissioned by England’s National Health Service (NHS), declared that there’s “insufficient evidence about the risks and benefits” of social transitioning, puberty blockers, and hormone replacement therapy — including the claim that they reduce suicidality among gender-distressed youths.
“It is important to note that gender-affirming care saves lives, and there is plenty of evidence to show for it,” wrote American trans journalist Erin Reed at the time of the report’s release, citing numerous studies proving that such care significantly reduces suicidality. She added, “The largest and most influential medical organizations support trans care.”
In their request to meet with the Health Secretary in November, Trans Kids Deserve Better said, “Puberty blockers give trans children the chance to grow up in a body that they are comfortable in and are life-saving.”
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