Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine

At the risk of stepping outside our normal K-12 education focus we bring you information about a group of medical personnel (from around the world) that are focused on the importance of “evidence” in dealing with gender based medical actions. The group we introduce today can be found at: Home | SEGM 

Why are we covering this? Because “gender” has been introduced into the equation by the WA State Superintendent Chris Reykdal and the WA State Legislature. They are trying to strip parents of their rights. We want you to have information that may be useful. And, the actions associated with forced gender reassignment impact education of not just those children directly impacted but by other students as well.

Who/What is the organization?

• We are an international group of over 100 clinicians and researchers concerned about the lack of quality evidence for the use of hormonal and surgical interventions as first-line treatment for young people with gender dysphoria. We represent expertise from a range of clinical disciplines.

  Our objectives include evaluating current interventions for gender dysphoria, providing balanced evidence summaries, promoting the development of effective and supportive psychosocial approaches for the care of young people with gender dysphoria and generating good, answerable questions for research.

  Young people with gender dysphoria deserve respect, compassion, and high quality care. Please join us in our mission to promote evidence-based care for children, adolescents, and young adults that prioritizes life (i.e. measures of mortality), quality of life, long-term outcomes, and fully informed consent. SEGM is free from political, ideological, religious, or financial influences.

  SEGM is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
  Contributions to SEGM are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. SEGM’s tax identification number is 84-4520593.

What is their aim?

• Our aim is to promote safe, compassionate, ethical and evidence-informed healthcare for children, adolescents, and young adults with gender dysphoria.

Whats the historical resolution to gender identity confusion?

• Historically, the small numbers of children presenting with gender dysphoria were primarily prepubescent males. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in referrals of adolescent females to gender clinics. Many do not have a significant history of childhood gender dysphoria and a number suffer from co-morbid mental health issues and neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The reasons for these changes are understudied and remain poorly understood.

  Childhood-onset gender dysphoria has been shown to have a high rate of natural resolution, with 61-98% of children re-identifying with their biological sex during puberty. No studies to date have evaluated the natural course and rate of gender dysphoria resolution among the novel cohort presenting with adolescent-onset gender dysphoria.

What are the Benefits, Harms and Uncertainties of the Gender-Affirmative Treatment?

• Until recent years, medical interventions to achieve the appearance of the desired sex, known as the “gender-affirmative” model, have been reserved primarily for adults with long histories of dysphoria. However, in Western Europe, North America, and Australia, hormonal and surgical interventions are increasingly becoming the first line of treatment for adolescents and young adults with gender dysphoria, including those with relatively recent onset.

  In the past, medical interventions were preceded by a prolonged engagement with the patient, including ongoing psychological assessment. Now there has been a shift to a more automatic “affirmation” of the individual’s view of themselves as transgender. As such, the provision of medical intervention now happens with a much-reduced psychological assessment.

Is there a Need for Caution and Better Research?

• The history of medicine has many examples in which the well-meaning pursuit of short-term relief of symptoms has led to devastating long-term results; for example the past use of thalidomide, lobotomies, and the recent opioid epidemic. The “gender affirmative” model commits young people to lifelong medical treatment with minimal attention to the etiology of their conditions, and the psychosocial factors contributing to gender dysphoria. This model dismisses the question of whether psychological therapy might help to relieve or resolve gender dysphoria and provides interventions without an adequate examination.

  We are asking clinicians and researchers to halt this uncontrolled experimentation on youth and replace it with a supportive framework of research that generates useful evidence about the etiology of gender dysphoria and the benefits and harms of various interventions. We need to know:

  • Which factors contribute to the development of gender dysphoria?
    
  • Which are the most effective interventions in gender dysphoria?
  • What are the long-term outcomes of those interventions?

  We propose that, in view of the current dearth of evidence, the application of the model to children, adolescents, and young adults is unjustified outside of research settings. Patients, families and clinicians cannot make informed healthcare decisions without knowing the likely benefits and harms of the various interventions.

Please take the time to research the Pros and Cons of gender alteration. It’s a real issue in today’s public school environment. In Washington State the Comprehensive Sex Education mandate is forcing gender to be introduced to children earlier and earlier with a goal of starting in kindergarten….what say you?