Bodily Autonomy for Every Body

Bodily Autonomy for Every Body

Following the Minister Liz Truss's statement to the Women and Equalities Committee stating her plan to "make sure that the under‑18s are protected from decisions that they could make that are irreversible", we are calling on MPs to take action.

We believe this to be a dogwhistle around the rolling back of trans healthcare for under-18s, specifically hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers.

This is an issue of human rights, and of bodily autonomy and integrity. If we allow trans young people to be stripped of their agency to make decisions around their healthcare, next on the chopping ...

Following the Minister Liz Truss's statement to the Women and Equalities Committee stating her plan to "make sure that the under‑18s are protected from decisions that they could make that are irreversible", we are calling on MPs to take action.

We believe this to be a dogwhistle around the rolling back of trans healthcare for under-18s, specifically hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers.

This is an issue of human rights, and of bodily autonomy and integrity. If we allow trans young people to be stripped of their agency to make decisions around their healthcare, next on the chopping block will be wider rights around access to abortion and contraception.

A loss to trans youth is a loss for all.

Tell your MP why the concepts of bodily autonomy and Gillick Competence are so important in a human rights framework. Either we have bodily autonomy for every body or we have it for none.

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Email your MP

  • Telling your MP directly about what's going on is the best way to ensure they're in the loop. The more they hear from the community, and the more they hear about trans experiences in general, the likelier is it we will ensure we keep our hard-won rights.
  • We've added a template email below, but please personalise it before sending it off. Click on 'email tips' for a bit of help with what to add.

Compose your email

Email Tips +

  • Share your personal experiences where you feel comfortable to do so, including the situation for young trans people on the ground in your local constituency
  • Say why rolling back of the right to bodily autonomy would be so harmful to you personally as a constituent and more widely for the the trans community
  • If you want to go further and meet your MP (and we would definitely recommend this if you feel up for it!), state that clearly. We have guidance around this on the Gendered Intelligence website here
  • Keep in mind MPs are, widely but not universally, not going to know a great deal about trans and non-binary experiences, so do keep it as simple as possible while telling a truthful and meaningful story