Summary

In this short debate piece, Kirsty Entwistle, a clinical psychologist who had worked at England's NHS youth gender service in Leeds, backs Butler and Hutchinson's call for detransition research. She argues that stories detransitioners have shared online show decisions about puberty blockers (drugs that pause puberty), hormones and surgery being made on misleading information about how well they work and whether they are needed. She calls for long-term tracking of everyone treated by NHS and private clinics, for non-medical treatments for gender distress, and for a close look at the systems that shaped current practice. The piece raised concerns that were later examined by England's official evidence reviews and the Cass Review, an independent review of youth gender services. But it is opinion based on personal stories and gives no figures on how common these problems are.

Key findings

• L'articolo è una risposta di due pagine all'appello del 2020 di Butler e Hutchinson per ricerca e servizi destinati a chi interrompe o inverte la transizione.
• Segnala un gruppo crescente di detransitioner, molti nella tarda adolescenza e a inizio ventina, che condividono le proprie esperienze negli spazi online pubblici perché non esistono servizi specialistici per loro.
• L'autrice sostiene che sia essenziale un follow-up organizzato e a lungo termine di tutti coloro che hanno ricevuto un trattamento medico da cliniche del NHS e private.
• Sostiene che le decisioni sul trattamento medico del disagio di genere siano state basate su informazioni fuorvianti su quanto funzioni e su quanto sia necessario.
• Dice che le storie dei detransitioner mostrano che c'è un grande bisogno di trattamenti non medici per il disagio di genere.
• Chiede un esame approfondito dei sistemi politici e organizzativi che hanno portato alla pratica attuale, per evitare che i giovani ricevano trattamenti medici di cui non hanno bisogno.

Abstract

Butler and Hutchinson's clarion call (Butler and Hutchinson, 2020) for empirical research on desistance and detransition deserves careful consideration. It formally documents the needs of the emerging cohort of detransitioners, many of whom are in their teens and early twenties. In the absence of specialist services, some detransitioners have been sharing their experiences in public forums. The anecdotal reports by detransitioners indicate that systematic long-term follow-up of those who have been prescribed medical interventions by NHS and private clinics is essential to understanding the gestalt. Decision-making on the basis of misinformation on the effectiveness and necessity of medical interventions for gender dysphoria is a problem, and detransitioners indicate that nonmedical interventions for gender dysphoria are sorely needed. Analysis of the political and organisational systems that have brought us to the current situation is required in order to prevent more young people from being prescribed unnecessary medical interventions for gender dysphoria.

Conclusion

Detransitioners' testimonies reveal that decision-making about medical interventions for gender dysphoria has been based on misinformation regarding effectiveness and necessity. Systematic long-term follow-up of individuals prescribed medical interventions is essential, nonmedical interventions for gender dysphoria are sorely needed, and analysis of the political and organisational systems that led to the current situation is required to prevent more young people from being prescribed unnecessary medical interventions.