Transgender Lives are Perpetually At Threat in the United Kingdom

A burgeoning gender critical movement in the United Kingdom masquerading as being pro-women has legitimised and radicalised anti-transgender sentiment, capturing the narrative and exerting significant influence on the government, society and media as it tirades against ‘gender ideology.’ The United Kingdom, which was formerly praised for its progressive views on queer rights, has gained notoriety for its hostility towards transgender individuals and for fostering transphobic sentiment.

A survey carried out in November by the brand Zoah revealed that LGBTQ+ people have been feeling increasingly unsafe in the United Kingdom, with around 72 percent of trans and non-binary folks experiencing the insecurity that comes with watching culture and legislation rapidly shift towards a direction that endangers your gender expression and with it, your existence. The study that consisted of almost 400 trans people from the UK reflected on how unconfident and threatened today’s transgender children feel in academic environments like school or colleges. 

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was under scrutiny for making a joke in expense of transgender women in the presence of a parent who lost their 16-year old trans daughter in the hands of her violent peers. It speaks volumes on how the culture of dehumanisation has robbed trans folks of all dignity, even in death.

Transgender people have been continually treated as an instrument in a very divisive, vitriolic culture war where every aspect of their identity and presence is being ripped apart and scrutinized—from language to sports, from bathrooms to hospital wards. When your mere existence is up for debate, that is hardly a way to live. 

As people on hormones struggle to get their prescription, the contested Cass Review has effectively banned puberty blockers and made their possession illegal. In an open letter, more than 200 educational psychologists shared their alarm over the Cass Review regarding “the real-world negative impacts experienced by gender-diverse and transgender young people in the UK.” One of the most demoralising aspect of this situation is that it is getting increasingly transparent that no minister or party will take a firm stand up in favour of this community.

As Advocate reported back in July of this year, the trans community in the United Kingdom is going through a ‘silent genocide.’ Things are tangibly getting worse. The trans youth is having to live through irreversible pain as a consequence of being forced to detransition. Such transparent mistreatment of other marginalised demographics had often sparked consequential national outrages but in face of this violent, rampant transphobia—there is little to no pushback.