“Devastated” Victorian parents left in the dark as schools allow their kids to socially transition

Furious parents say “activist” teachers are socially transitioning their kids at school without their knowledge, accusing the education department of a “complete betrayal of trust”.

Victorian kids with gender dysphoria are being socially transitioned at school without their parents’ knowledge.

Frustrated parents say they feel betrayed by the state’s education department after they were left in the dark about their child’s new gender identity at school.

In Victoria, most high school students can request that teachers call them a different name and different pronouns at school, without permission from their parents.

Under mature minor laws, it is up to the principal or teachers to decide whether that student is capable of making their own decision.

One concerned dad on the Bellarine Peninsula told the Herald Sun his daughter, who has been diagnosed with autism, was called a different name and male pronouns at school for months without his knowledge, despite requesting that he be kept in the loop.

Frustrated parents say they feel betrayed by the state’s education department after they were left in the dark about their child’s new gender identity at school.

“We wanted to take a wait and watch approach and not do anything with pronouns and different names and the school seemed to be very understanding of that,” he said.

“But at the end of term one, we found out her teachers had been calling her a different name at school.”

The dad, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his daughter, said it was “absolutely devastating” and a “complete betrayal of trust”.

“This is a kid who only discovered last year that Santa wasn’t real,” he said.

He said he and his wife had lost all confidence in the education department.

“Our faith and trust in the department of education is gone,” he said.

“This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

Another parent, Maroondah mum Sally – not her real name – said her daughter began requesting to be called a boy’s name in year 5 after learning about transgenderism from her friends at school.

“Her teacher called her a different name for months without our knowledge,” she said.

“She was telling her, “your mum doesn’t understand you but I do and I’m really proud of you”.

“She was trying to pit my daughter against me.

“Activist teachers are really proud to have a trans kid in their class.”

Sally said despite her daughter – who is now 14 – being diagnosed with autism and requiring learning assistance, her high school continues to affirm her new identity as a boy.

“The high school let me know about the name change but they weren’t asking me, they were just telling me,” she said.

The Herald Sun asked the education department whether they kept a record of how many students were identifying as trans at school but they refused to provide information.

A department spokesman said schools have an obligation under anti-discrimination law to ensure students do not face discrimination.

“In meeting these obligations, schools work with families to support the health and wellbeing of all students, including students affirming their gender identity at school,” he said.

“Young people who are supported to affirm their gender identity at school have better educational and wellbeing outcomes.”

Libertarian MP David Limbrick, who has been leading calls for an inquiry into Victoria’s gender treatment model, said the government was turning a blind eye to a “public health disaster”.

“I am a great believer in human rights – including trans rights,” he said.

“But we need to start talking about parental rights. We need adults in the room, preferably parents.

Mr Limbrick said it was “not right” that kids are being socially transitioned in schools without their parents’ knowledge.

“Nobody cares more about the welfare of children than their parents,” he said.

Health Minister Mary Anne Thomas says gender care in Australia is ‘profoundly different’ to what is delivered in the UK and other countries. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Vic govt probes landmark UK study

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has revealed the government is considering whether findings from the Cass review – a landmark UK study into gender identity services for children and young people – could be applied in Victoria.

The four-year investigation, which sparked worldwide controversy following its release in April, found clinicians were “unable to determine with any certainty” which kids and adolescents were actually transgender – raising fears about potentially irreversible medical treatments for young people.

Its release prompted a petition calling for an inquiry into gender identity services for children and adolescents in Victoria.

In an otherwise scathing response which sought to discredit the petition and its “grave concerns”, Ms Thomas said her department was considering the study.

“As with any significant review of healthcare my Department is considering the applicability of the report’s recommendations to the Victorian context,” she said.

The health minister went on to attack the petition, signed by more than 1400 people, claiming “misinformation” had gotten worse since the review.

Prominent Victorian detransitioner Mel Jeffries says if the government does not reconsider its model of care, it will be hit with ‘a tidal wave of legal cases’. Picture: Mark Stewart

Ms Thomas said gender care in Australia was “profoundly different” to what is delivered in the UK and other countries, and had been developed in consultation with “44 expert professionals across different states of Australia”.

“This model of care includes non-medical pathways for gender expression and experience and medical treatment where clinically and legally appropriate,” she said.

She denied that puberty blockers or hormone treatment were handed out routinely.

“It is also pertinent for all of us to understand the real risks of denying treatment to young people with gender dysphoria and the potentially very serious impacts this would have on their mental health,” she said.

But prominent Victorian detransitioner Mel Jeffries told the Herald Sun if the government did not reconsider it’s model of care, it would be hit with “a tidal wave of legal cases”.

As a teenager, Ms Jefferies struggled with body image issues and became confused about her gender, choosing to identify as a boy following several visits to clinicians.

At age 26 she had her breasts removed under medical advice.

“It was within two weeks of having my breasts removed, I was like, I want a flat stomach, I hate my thighs or I hate my hips,” she said.

“It literally just migrated.”

More than 1000 individuals and organisations, including people with relevant lived experience – direct or as a parent or carer – and organisations working with LGBTQ+ children and young people were interviewed as part of the Cass review.

Nordic countries and the UK have recently taken a more cautious approach to gender treatment for minors, including limiting puberty blockers.

Originally published as “Devastated” Victorian parents left in the dark as schools allow their kids to socially transition