A New Study Exposes Flaws In the Dutch Research on Pediatric Gender Medicine

The Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) recently announced the publication of a new study titled The Myth of Reliable Research in Pediatric Gender Medicine. This research examined two well-known Dutch studies that strongly influenced the practices that came to be known as “gender affirming care” for minors.

The Dutch studies contain “three methodological biases” that undermine the research, the authors said. First, only the “most successful cases” were included in the outcomes. Second, the finding of “resolution of gender dysphoria” was based on faulty measurement methods pre-/post-treatment. Finally, the authors noted that the simultaneous use of psychotherapy, hormone therapy, and surgery “made it impossible to separate the effects” of each intervention.

SEGM says that the new study “demands urgent attention from the medical community” due to the risk of harm to youth in the United States and worldwide, particularly in the Western world. “The authors highlight how far the field of gender-medicine has drifted from the core principles of evidence-based medicine,” the organization said in a statement published on its website. “The gender medicine field has a limited time to self-correct before public health authorities, and increasingly, elected officials who do not understand medicine but do understand the risks of harm to youth, step in to curb the damage.”

Because the circumstances are so critical, Do No Harm recently launched its Protecting Minors from Gender Ideology initiative. This effort serves to educate policymakers, healthcare professionals, and the public on the disastrous consequences of inflicting unproven interventions onto children in the name of “gender-affirming care.” We are fighting back against the narrative of misinformation and attempts to discredit the actual scientific evidence that gender ideologues engage in. Exposing the errors and defects of long-accepted “research” is an early step in protecting children from these dangerous practices.

SEGM is a non-profit organization and a group of more than 100 clinicians and researchers with a mission to raise the bar on the quality of evidence in gender medicine, with a focus on children, adolescents, and young adults.