Well, we are back! It’s been over half a year since our last edition of What The News?! But here we are. It takes a lot of time and effort to put these weekly summaries together. But now we have some new fantastic news reporters who should be working on these on a more consistent basis. And this week, they have put together this fantastic piece. And as you can see from the author at the top. It doesn’t say Alyx.

Read below to learn from Autumn on what has happened in the past week!

Monday: Study finds over 75 percent of LGBTQ+ Australians face abuse from parents or other authority figures

A study conducted by Academics from the Australian Catholic University shows that 75% of LGBTQ+ youth in Australia experience abuse from their families or people in authority. For Transgender and Gender Diverse people are far more likely to experience abuse with 90% stating that they had experienced emotional, physical or psychological maltreatment.

My biggest concern about this is what is going to be done about these figures? What is going to be done to negate the abuse that young queer people face?

Tuesday: Kemi Badenoch ‘will insist firms collect gender pay gap data based on biological sex’ after civil servants said trans IDs can be used

Women and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, advised firms who are collecting figures on pay differences between Men and Women in their employment to collect the data based on “Biological sex” rather than how the employee’s identify. This statement from Badenoch came after Whithall officials stated that it would be acceptable to include Transgender identities in the figures.

Love it when obsession over trans people makes for misleading analytical data! Especially considering that it has been reported that on average Trans workers in America make 60 cents for every dollar Cis Workers make.

Wednesday: Ohio senate overrides governor and blocks trans youth from receiving care

Ohio’s state senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of bill HB68 which bans all Gender Affirming care for Trans Youths in the state of Ohio. The Bill bans all forms of Gender Affirming care for all Transgender people under the age of 18 including puberty blockers, Hormone replacement therapy and any potential surgeries. The Bill also bans specifically Transgender Women from participating in women’s sports teams. The Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine previously vetoed the bill in December, stating that “Many parents have told me, their child would be dead today if their child had not received the treatment they received from an Ohio State Children’s hospital”. However the bill will not stop healthcare for young people already receiving it.

I’m not going to sugar code this, this is horrific. Much like other cases of this happening in the US, in the coming months we are going to see many vulnerable young people fleeing Ohio for more accepting states. While there is good news in that people already receiving treatment won’t have it ripped away from them. I fear for those on waiting lists.

Thursday: Athlete Lia Thomas Taking Legal action against World Aquatics.

American Swimmer Lia Thomas is taking legal action against World Aquatics who published guidance in 2022 which banned any athlete who had “undergone any part of male puberty” from participating in Women’s categories. Lia Thomas, a Trans swimmer who has not competed since 2022 because of these rules has recruited Canadian Law Firm Tyr, is taking the organisation to court, stating “ the Challenged Provisions are invalid and unlawful as they discriminate against her.”

I’m probably going to keep an eye on this one. If Lia Thomas manages to win this case it could potentially mean holding not only World Aquatics to account for discrimination but also other regulatory bodies for Sports. On the other hand, if she loses, It seems like it could imply the standard that recognized bodies can apply discriminatory rules and regulations and face no consequences for it. Bleak times indeed.

Friday: Utah’s legislature passes transgender bathroom ban (nbcnews.com)

Utah becomes the 11th US State to restrict Bathroom access for Transgender people, The Bill that was passed on Friday states that individuals must use the facilities that match their assigned gender at birth and not their identity, meaning that the new rules also apply to Changing rooms. If Someone is challenged on being in the incorrect toilet they have to prove that they have a right to be there. In the case of Trans people, this means proving that they have had the sex marker on their birth certificate changed and also had gender affirming surgeries.

With every mention of a Bathroom bill comes the same points from the opposition, and for good reason. This seems logistically impossible to implement and maintain unless Schools start having bathroom bouncers demanding genital inspections from students. Like the rest of them, this is a bill proposed by a Republican assembly, made up of mainly cisgender men who haven’t thought this through, haven’t looked at evidence and will most likely not think on the damage this will cause.

Saturday: Gender-criticals are claiming ‘victory’ in employment tribunals – but it’s not that simple

Gender Criticals are celebrating Professor Jo Phoenix’s win in an employment tribunal where she argued that she faced “direct discrimination” over her gender critical beliefs. Many Gender Critics claim that their opinions are protected characteristics that are protected by law.

Every time they start celebrating something it makes them seem more and more like a cult in my opinion. Acting as if they are greatly oppressed just makes me roll my eyes. The use of the word “belief” is almost like it’s being defended as a religion. The English student in me wants to explain the connotations of this word choice and talk about how it ties to their agenda/goals, but I do think it’s telling that this is how they have chosen to frame it.

Sunday: Two legislators file bill to undo a law that bans gender affirming care for transgender minors in Kentucky

Two Democrat legislators in Kentucky have filed a bill to undo a law banning Trans Healthcare for minors. The Bill was passed in 2023 and became law due to a major Republican Majority in the state. The bill has been fought by LGBTQ+ Organizations in Kentucky but now two Democrat representatives are attempting to have the law undone, “No child should have to advocate not only for their basic rights but their very identity” Says Rep Sarah Stalker.

If this bill can be fought and beaten. It could give hope that similar bills in other red states could also be fought, I’m going to keep my eye on this, I hope it goes well. I think anywhere in America could do with a win right now.

Conclusion

Overall this week has been relatively quiet here in Britain, but the struggle continues everywhere! The sweeping Anti-Trans bills in Red states still scare me but there are sprinkles of hope in these nightmare situations for Trans Youth. Eye opening figures down under also aren’t particularly pleasant, it breaks my heart that stats like those seem consistent in many other places. Finally of course as a surprise to no-one, Kemi badenoch decides to make data collection that is barely related to Trans people, all about Trans people which achieves nothing but inaccurate figures on the data being gathered. Anyway that’s all from me this week on the first What the News piece I have written which has been daunting but I’ve learned a lot! Always hoping for a brighter week ahead.