Nuffield Council on Bioethics launches call for evidence on the care and treatment of children and adolescents in relation to their gender identity

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a call for evidence to inform its project on the ethical, social, and legal issues associated with the care and treatment of children and adolescents in relation to their gender identity.

This call for evidence is an open call for views on some of the issues we want to explore in more detail, including:

• the nature of gender dysphoria and how this affects approaches to care and treatment;
• the social context within which gender dysphoria exists;
• whether there is adequate evidence on the safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to support treatment;
• current approaches to care and treatment, including the purpose of puberty blockers, the gender affirmative approach, and social transition;
• how to consider the benefits and harms of treatment and non-treatment in decision-making; and
• the ability of children and adolescents to consent to medical interventions for gender dysphoria.

The aim of our project is to contribute information and insight on these issues to inform and support practitioners and policy-makers, to contribute to the broader public debate, and, ultimately, to improve the well-being of gender diverse and gender incongruent children and adolescents by helping ensure they receive ethical, appropriate, and high-quality care.

We would like to hear from as many people and organisations as possible who have an interest in the care and treatment of children and adolescents in relation to their gender identity. In particular, we would like to hear from anyone with personal experience of using gender identity services or supporting someone to use those services. Anyone is welcome to respond to this call for evidence, which is open until Friday 14 May.

The responses to this call for evidence will form an important step in our evidence gathering and play a significant role in influencing this project and its final conclusions. We will also be undertaking a range of other evidence-gathering activities to ensure that we can hear from a diverse range of people.

If you have any questions or would like to be involved in any further opportunities to contribute or alert us to people/organisations that may be interested in this work, please contact gender@nuffieldbioethics.org.

Contact

Sophia Griffiths
Acting Communications Manager
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
+44 (0) 20 7681 9622
sgriffiths@nuffieldbioethics.org