BAGIS submission to the consultation on the NHSE interim service specification for specialist gender dysphoria services for children and young people

1st August 2023

BAGIS wishes to express concern regarding the interim service specification for specialist gender dysphoria services for children and young people. The proposed approach is unnecessarily paternalistic and interrogative; with a clinical pathway which fails to acknowledge the fact that gender diversity is simply a normal part of human diversity. While care must be taken to ensure young people receive appropriate treatment, the proposed specification focuses instead on simple gatekeeping without due regard to the healthcare needs and human rights of the young people it seeks to serve. In no cases should social transition require medical approval. The language used is reductive and pathologizing, compulsory enrolment onto clinical trials unethical, and punishment for families seeking help elsewhere set to further isolate this already minoritised group. BAGIS views the proposed situation for gender identity services for young people in England and Wales as a worrying departure from international best practice and calls on NHS England and the department of Health to develop service specifications which are evidence based and which are co-produced with young gender diverse people and their carers/families at every stage and as per WPATH and Endocrine Society guidelines.