Written evidence submitted by Stephanie Davies-Arai to the Transgender Equality Inquiry

I am a communication skills trainer, I work with parents and teachers, my website is www.communicatingwithkids.co.uk and I have published a book Communicating with Kids. My work involves research into areas such as child development and neuroscience.

My evidence to the committee on the issue of transgender equality is concerned with the impact of legislation on two areas:

1. The rights of women

2. The rights of children

1. Women.

If personal identity is given precedence over biological sex in terms of legislation, I am concerned about the following consequences for women and girls:

• To deny access to women-only space would be seen as discriminatory. How would this impact safe spaces for vulnerable women eg. Rape Crisis centres, domestic violence shelters? What about women's prisons?
• Women and girls would be obliged to believe that someone is a woman if they say so, even if their instincts tell them this person is a man. Are we to teach our daughters to trust strangers, or to listen to their instincts? This puts women and girls at risk. There are many instances of violence against women and girls perpetuated by 'trans women' or cross-dressing men documented here: http://nounequalrights.com/information/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/The-Threat-to-Women-and-Girls-Illustrated-1.pdf This study shows that male-to-female transgendered people retain a male pattern of violent crime: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885
• Many cases of male-to-female transgenderism are cases of autogynephilia. Would these men be legally defined as women? Autogynephilia is explained here: https://autogynephiliatruth.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/lawrence-2011.pdf
• Will any legislation support the fallacy of 'male' and 'female' brains, a long discredited theory historically used to subjugate women? This fallacy is well documented by Cordelia Fine in her book Delusions of Gender; here is a short synopsis by Robin McKie, Science Editor of the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/07/brain-science-ditch-male-female-cliche. If the male/female brain theory is enshrined in law, what impact will this have on women's equality?
• How will equality legislation impact statistics on male violence against women? Will violence from 'trans women' be counted in the statistics on female violence?
• If anyone can be a woman if they say so, how will this affect discrimination against women?
• If 'male' and 'female' biology no longer exists, how will this affect women's health services?

2. Children

• How do we protect children from the diagnosis of 'trans' - if a boy enjoys playing with dolls for example, or a girl enjoys rough play? How do we stop an increasingly powerful trans activist lobby from pathologising normal childhood? There are many studies showing that the professionals have no idea of outcomes of increasingly aggressive 'treatments' and medicalisation of children who don't conform to a gender stereotype.

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/279313190_Early_Medical_Treatment_of_Children_and_Adolescents_With_Gender_Dysphoria_An_Empirical_Ethical_Study

file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/J%20Adolesc%20Health%201-s2.0-S1054139X15001597-main.pdf

http://4thwavenow.com/2015/07/27/two-recent-survey-studies-by-dr-johanna-olson-biases-assumptions-and-the-medical-transitioning-of-young-people/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18194003

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jul/30/health.mentalhealth

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3043071/

This is important reading, from psychologist David Schwartz https://autogynephiliatruth.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/schwartz-2012.pdf

• More and more testimonials are being published from those who regret transitioning, this for example: http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/the-inbetweeners-20150730-ginojq
• And there is much evidence of the harms of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments, such as life-long sterilization. Some of the effects of treatment are discussed on this site: http://truth-about-transition.tumblr.com/
• The suicide rate highly publisised by trans activists is misleading but is constantly used to frighten parents: http://4thwavenow.com/2015/08/03/the-41-trans-suicide-rate-a-tale-of-flawed-data-and-lazy-journalists/
• How will legislation protect children (and parents) from the barrage of trans theory which is convincing people that there is such a thing as a 'trans child' from a community of self-appointed 'gender experts'? The rush to perform invasive life-changing surgery on younger and younger children is very disturbing: this is from the States, how can we prevent it happening in the UK? http://4thwavenow.com/2015/08/19/coming-soon-to-a-state-near-you-double-mastectomy-for-your-15-year-old-without-parental-consent/
• Will legislation prevent more doctors from speaking out as this doctor has done: https://radfemrepost.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/kathy2/

Finally I am concerned that the bullying and no-platforming of women who assert that being a woman is a biological reality (and the many women who are silenced for fear of being labeled 'TERF' or transphobic) will be exacerbated if government enshrines in law the right of men to define what 'woman' is. Trans people need protection, understanding and respect, but not at the expense of the rights of women, and not at the expense of performing this huge experiment on our children

20 August 2015