Kemi Badenoch,
The proposed changes to the treatment of transgender people disproportionally affects transitioned women. With healthcare, work and social issues due to impact transitioned women severely, we are a collective dedicated to our protection and welfare.
Following discussion about us in the houses of parliament on the 6th December, we are keen to address our concerns directly with you.
1) The diagnosis and medical treatment of unwell transitioned women for all disease processes is NOT bio-identical to cisgender men. There are numerous differences in treatment, physiology, disease progress and pathology, and blood markers that are not bio-identical to cisgender men, and there is clear evidence for this in academic research. While the government believes they seek "facts" and are "more informed" than the general public on trans matters, it is clearly ignorant to the differing medical treatment that those on GAHRT require. Parliament mislead both each other and the general public that medicine is identical for transitioned women and cis men. As a public health matter, we believe clarification in this matter is vital.
2) While the government seeks to exclude transitioned women from all spaces for cis women, it has only ever described putting all transitioned women in the cis male estate in every aspect of their lives. We strongly object to such treatment. Forcing transitioned women to change in front of cisgender men is degrading and undignified. While we understand the need to "protect" cisgender women from "predatory cisgender men". Placing transitioned women in spaces surrounded by cisgender men is dangerous, undignified and an infringement of privacy. Being a transitioned woman does not magically protect you from the advances of cisgender men. It is a cruel and unusual punishment for transitioned women, executed as you describe as a result of cis women's "concerns". All of our members are diagnosed with transsexualism / gender incongruence or gender identity disorder, something we cannot help, which has affected us from or earliest memory. We regard the forced relocation of transitioned women into cisgender mens spaces in every aspect of our lives as inhuman and degrading treatment and torture under international human rights law.
While there seemed to be some compassion for transitioned women from other countries in your presentation to parliament, we represent transitioned women in this country. All of our members have had lower surgery, not because of gender recognition, but because it is who we are. We believe we are deserving of evidence based healthcare, and the same rights as everyone else to compassion, dignity, and freedom from cruelty and degradation.
We are concerned that the safety of transitioned women has never garnered attention. Our biology is fundamentally different to both cisgender men and cisgender women even before HRT, but especially after it. We believe that safe spaces for transitioned women are those that give us freedom from the gaze and unsubstantiated allegations of cisgender women, and the gaze and threat that cisgender men pose.
Sincerely,
Transiness.
www.transiness.com