Australian Human Rights Commission calls out harm to trans and gender-diverse kids

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s new ‘Equal Identities’ report has shone a spotlight on a painful reality: trans and gender-diverse young people in Queensland are being actively harmed by politically expedient decisions that directly contravene their human rights.

The report found that trans and gender-diverse people face significant discrimination across all areas of Australian society, including workplaces, schools, and the justice system.  Everyday life for many trans and gender-diverse people includes high levels of violence, harassment and direct targeting through harmful anti-trans campaigns.

Trans and gender-diverse young people are among the most vulnerable to this discrimination, with the Queensland Government’s ban on new prescriptions of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones through the public system causing immense and ongoing harms.

There is now strong international evidence that denying access to gender-affirming care puts young lives at risk, driving significantly higher rates of suicidality, depression, and anxiety.

In recognising this compelling evidence, the Australian Human Rights Commission report calls for federal, state and territory governments to “end pauses on puberty suppressants and other hormone therapies for children and young people”. Instead, the Queensland government has imposed a politically expedient ban that denies care until at least 2031.

Given that children in Queensland experiencing precocious/early puberty can still access puberty blockers without any restrictions (the exact same medication now banned for trans and gender-diverse children) it becomes apparent that the Queensland Government is also not respecting its own Human Rights Act, which asserts that “every person has the right to access health services without discrimination”.

As the parents of the beautiful, kind and caring children and young people affected by this cruel ban and human rights violation, we understand firsthand what harms it is causing.  We call on the Queensland Government to listen to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s recommendations, and to urgently right these wrongs by reinstating access to puberty blockers and gender-affirming care for young trans and gender-diverse Queenslanders.

Read the 'Equal Identities' Report: https://humanrights.gov.au/resource-hub/by-resource-type/reports/lgbtqia/equal-identities