Wednesday, 29 May 2024

Gender identity

Petition

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (17:13): I rise to speak on a petition presented to the Legislative Council recently by my colleague Mrs Bev McArthur, on 14 May, that relates to gender identity services for young people. The petition calls on the government to urgently implement an impartial, transparent, ethical and independent inquiry into gender identity services for children and adolescents and consult with medical professionals and young people and their families who have lived experiences about the current end-to-end treatment process. I note that the petition was tabled with over 1400 signatures and that the Minister for Health is due to provide a response by 13 June.

Whenever changes are introduced by this Parliament, we have a shared responsibility to consider the impact of those changes. As members of this chamber are aware, the Cass review was recently released in the UK, and I agree with my colleague Ms Crozier that it is an important review that should not be dismissed. It is important that any review considers the range of medical views so that we are informed by the impact of these changes by medical and health professionals.

I attended a forum hosted by Mr Limbrick at Parliament last year and heard directly from people who had undertaken treatment and taken puberty blockers, and I heard about the devastating impacts that this treatment has had on their lives. It is important that we listen to them and also that we listen to parents as well. During the parliamentary inquiry into the state education system in Victoria, hearings have been held across the state, including in Bendigo and Shepparton in Northern Victoria, and I thank my Nationals colleague Melina Bath, a former teacher, for shining a light on Victoria’s education system. The committee is looking into various elements of the education system, including student wellbeing, measures to address poor mental health and student disengagement. During those hearings Parents of Adolescents with Gender Distress Victoria presented at the hearing and made a submission to the inquiry, and I quote from their submission. It says:

All our children have self-diagnosed with the encouragement of peers, school personnel and on-line resources such as TikTok. It is notable that gender distress peaked for the majority of our children during or shortly after the Covid pandemic when their mental health was noticeably more fragile.

In numerous cases, and contrary to the principles of both the Education and Training Reform Act … and the Child Youth and Families Act 2005, school personnel have intentionally excluded and alienated parents from discussions regarding their child’s gender distress and mental wellbeing.

We are particularly concerned with the well-intentioned but ill-informed willingness to implement ‘social transition’ without consulting parents. For the children who are struggling with mental health and identity formation, this intervention compounds their distress and increases their mental instability.

It also stated:

Intentionally alienating parents in the process isolates them from their most important support structure at a time when they need it most. It is also a significant psychosocial intervention that school employees are woefully uninformed about and unqualified to make. The Interim Report of The Cass Review in the UK observed that “social transition is an active intervention because it may have significant effects on the child or young person in terms of their psychological functioning”.

PAGD VIC also believe that the uncritical acceptance of gender ideology as fact that is championed by the Education Department, lacks evidence and fails to deliver improved wellbeing for our children.

It is disturbing to hear that parents have been excluded from discussions regarding their child and that a social transition was implemented without consulting parents. I am concerned that under this government the rights of parents are being eroded. In responding to this petition, I ask the minister to reflect on the feedback of people who have been through the treatment and parents who are directly impacted and commit to undertaking an independent review into gender identity services and the treatment process for children and adolescents. It is important that we prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our children, listen to the voices of those with lived experience and learn from it.