Protesters voiced their concern about a recent report on Channel 7’s Spotlight program on Thursday by protesting outside the broadcaster’s Osborne Park offices in Perth.
Warning: This story has details of suicide ideation, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.
The network aired a report on it’s flagship current affairs program on Sunday night that highlighted the experiences of people who transition gender and later revert to living as their gender assigned at birth.
The report faced criticism over it’s promotional clip which featured images of prominent people who have transitioned gender, several have complained arguing that the promotion made it look as they regret their decision.
Concern has also been raised about the lack of balance within the report from veteran journalist Liam Bartlett, as well as his interview style during a conversation with respected psychologist Dr Ian Hickie.
Members of local LGBTIQA+ rights group Queer Liberation Boorloo made their views known at the front gates of Channel Seven where they held up signs and delivered chants including calls for Bartlett to be sacked over the report.
In a media statement the group labeled the Spotlight report as “misinformation”.
“The channel 7 program Spotlight’s feature story on detransition is a barrage of anti-trans propaganda. Spreading misleading information that goes against the medical consensus on the treatment of trans children.
“This misinformation adds to a landscape of fear-mongering that will cause the death of transgender children through denial of support from family ill-informed by the conspiracy theories implied in the presented.” the group said.
Queer Liberation Boorloo said the suggestion in the program that children were deciding to be transgender because of social contagion via the internet was unfounded.
“It is incredibly common for young queer people to find support and community online when they are not able to form a support network in person. Implying, as the story does, that children are being convinced to transition by social media, will have the consequence of unsupportive parents denying children access to their online social circles that are often their only lifeline in a turbulent time in their life.”
“The thesis that young trans people are being converted by new social forces, or that it is trendy to be trans is the explanation for increased numbers of transgender people suggested by thepseudoscientific “sudden onset gender dysphoria” theory. The evidence debunking this theory also speaks against your implications.”
The group went on to say that while the report was presented as an expose on thousands of Australian teenagers regretting their decision to transition gender, the interviews presented within the report featured one well know American activist, and two people from Australia, one who made the decision to transition gender in their twenties.
“Regret rates for transition are incredibly low, with some study’s reporting as low as 1%. The reason for detransition can also vary, however factors can include rejection from family, difficulty finding work, and prevalence of discrimination. Neglecting to mention this is journalistic malpractice and indicative of the hateful anti-trans agenda of the piece.” the group said.
The organisation have called on the broadcaster to dismiss Bartlett and the commissioning editor of the report, as well as calling for a formal apology and undertaking to deliver better programming in the future.
OIP Staff, OUTinPerth has reached out to the Spotlight team regarding concerns over their report.
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