TL;DR: Amid rumours of a growing rift between Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, Badenoch became the latest politician to use gender-critical dog-whistle language. She attempted to rebrand life-saving gender-affirming care as a form of so-called 'conversion therapy'.
Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch told the House of Commons this week that Britain is seeing "almost an epidemic" of young gay children being told that they are transgender and put on "irreversible pathways to sterilisation", likening gender-affirming care to the harmful practices of so-called 'conversion therapy'.
Gender-affirming care has been found to prevent suicide and save lives in a number of studies - Scientific American
Badenoch also told Parliament she would be revising the list of countries that the UK accepts gender recognition certificates from. That news comes as the Scottish government - the latest to legislate to demedicalise the process of changing gender - lost its first legal battle against the UK government veto of its Gender Recognition Reform Act.
I'm not alone in thinking the comments that the 'Equalities Minister' made likening a rise in young transpeople to an "epidemic" are egregious.
— Jamie Wareham (@jamie_wareham) December 11, 2023
But her packed comments statement signalled far more hateful policy to come in Schools - unpacked i 🧵👇pic.twitter.com/Z9XcbmTlXJ https://t.co/oAH2UTMeEl
What did Kemi Badenoch say about transgender people in Parliament this week?
In a heated Commons statement, the Equalities Minister warned of what she sees as "almost an epidemic" of young gay people being "persuaded" to become transgender - mirroring long-debunked 'groomer' rhetoric.
Speaking on the government’s upcoming guidance for schools about transgender pupils, which was rumoured to be released this week, she said allowing a child to socially transition was “not a neutral act” as it would have “formative effects on a child’s future development”. She said that at primary school, children should be banned from socially transitioning “except in the most extreme safeguarding cases, and I expect that to include clinical advice” - The Times
Badenoch and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan have been struggling to reach an agreement on the guidance, which has been delayed several times. Despite the opinion she set out, it's unlikely any ban on allowing kids to transition will make it into the government’s official non–statutory advice. The latest delay to the guidance came last month, as it was deemed potentially unlawful under equality legislation - The Guardian
Badenoch also suggested that the Conservative’s long-promised ban on conversion therapy - which was not in the King's Speech and is therefore unlikely to be brought forward as legislation by the Government before next year’s general election - could be used not just to criminalise attempts to turn gay children straight, but also supposed attempts to turn gay children trans - The Telegraph
To justify her position, Badenoch also claimed to have met with a "range" of LGBT organisations to inform these conclusions. However, almost all of the major queer organisations in the UK say the minister has not yet met with them, including Stonewall, Mermaids and the Kaleidoscope Trust. She has however met with several anti-trans organisations - PinkNews
Kemi Bandenoch announces changes to which Gender Recognition Certificates are accepted
Though Badenoch’s statement was mostly hot air and gender-critical opinions, she did make one announcement that was within her brief and power to set out.
As a growing number of countries are demedicalising the process of changing gender and introducing forms of self-ID, there will be changes to UK policy on which countries’ gender recognition certificates it accepts as valid.
Most controversially, this means the UK will no longer recognise certificates from countries that are some of its closest allies, including the other four members of the 'Five Eyes partnership': Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The list is reported to contain 50 countries in total - Daily Mail
The change means migrants to the UK with a gender recognition certificate from these countries won't have their gender recognised until they go through the UK's lengthy, medicalised process. Currently, just starting that process comes with wait times upwards of seven year - BBC
Analysis: Flailing Rwanda plan is the backdrop to this week's attack on trans people
It's little surprise that in a week where the government’s flagship Rwanda policy has all but fallen apart, they’ve made such a big show of making attacks on our community.
And it's crucial to see this as part of that bigger picture. The anti-immigration Rwanda policy and legislation blocked by the courts, has left PM Rishi Sunak under growing pressure to withdraw from international equality treaties, most notably from the European Court of Human Rights.
When the UK withdrew from the European Union, we lost the benefits of a wide array of equality legislation. But losing the protections afforded by the ECHR would be cataclysmic, not only for our community but for all marginalised people in the UK.
This week's outburst in parliament is designed to be little more than a distraction - but its impact is nonetheless devastating.
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