Harming children: the effects of the UK puberty blocker ban

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of data from trans children and young people and their parents following the imposition of a UK-wide ban on puberty blockers for this group. The consequences of this ban on trans and non-binary children and young people are analysed revealing very serious adverse effects, less than a year after its imposition, including sharply declining mental health, increased depression, social isolation, anxiety, stress, self-harm, school avoidance and suicide ideation. The ban appears to be a particular worry for children who are currently known only by their identified genders who fear being coercively outed. Parents themselves also report corresponding increases in levels of stress and worry about their children’s well-being and the possibility that they might attempt suicide. Increasing levels of transphobia and social exclusion since the ban’s imposition were also reported. The data presented here questions the entire rationale and ethical basis for the puberty blocker ban, providing hard evidence that it is both dangerous and unjustified given the significant level of harm it is causing.