The World Health Organization (W.H.O) has decided not to create transgender healthcare guidelines for minors due to limited evidence on longer-term outcomes.
The guidelines will focus on adults and will not address the needs of children and adolescents.
The agency is extending the public comment period for its planned “trans and gender diverse” health guidelines and has clarified that the development process may take up to two more years.
“This new guideline will focus on 5 areas: provision of gender-affirming care, including hormones relating to adults; health worker education on and training for the provision of gender-inclusive care; provision of health care for trans and gender diverse people who have suffered interpersonal violence, based on their needs; health policies that support gender-inclusive care; and legal recognition of self-determined gender identity for adults,” the agency wrote.
“Stakeholders whose views differ from those held by transgender activist organizations do not appear to have been invited,” United Nations’ Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem said.
“Such stakeholders include experts from European public health authorities who have taken the lead on developing an evidence-based and consequently cautious approach to youth gender transitions (eg England, Sweden and Finland),” she added.
The panel members have faced criticism for being biased and having an overt pro-transgender agenda, with concerns raised about the lack of representation from different viewpoints.
The panel is “made up mostly of social justice and human rights lawyers who believe the gender affirmative approach is the only option,” psychotherapist Stella O’Malley stated.
“[They] will determine care guidelines for trans people, yet they do not have anyone to represent critical balance on their panel,” she added. “The gender affirmative approach is presumed by W.H.O. to be the only way forward and thereby dismisses conventional psychotherapy.”
“This is a narrow-minded and heavily biased approach,” O’Malley said. “The W.H.O. [is] making a grave mistake; [it] should pause this process and consult with the many professionals who hold different approaches.”
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