Trans activists and politicians like to claim this never happens, and yet here we are.

The mother of a 15-year-old girl has posted to a group chat that her daughter will be getting a double mastectomy in Victoria.

Earlier this month, the Melbourne mother of an RCH patient made an excited post to a support group for parents of trans-identifying children—

“Happy day today. Just been informed there’s a surgeon that our gender clinic recommended here in Melbourne that will do top surgery on my 15-year-old son. This will be a massive breakthrough for his mental health as he will now be able to wear t-shirts like his friends and not constantly get asked why do you wear hoodies in the summer. And he will be able to go swimming.”

Another group member asked: “Have you had support through the gender service at RCH? I keep getting told these kids can’t get top surgery until they’re 18 [in Victoria.]”

The mother replied: “We have been with the gender clinic for two years now. There are some surgeons who will do [the surgery] with a referral from the clinic, which we have. This surgeon was referred to me from our doctor at the clinic… [The] minimum age in [Victoria] with some surgeons is 16, but this particular surgeon will do it at 15 under special circumstances and back-up support from the specialists, which we have.”

Another group member said—

“It’s always been known that there have been NO surgeons who will operate on people under 18 in Victoria. People talk about it all the time in this group. It’s strange given Victoria has been ahead in so many other areas. So, the news that you have found a surgeon in Victoria who will operate on someone under 18 is huge news. Which is why I asked whether you could share the surgeon’s name for those of us in the current process of looking interstate.” 

Still another member said: “My 12 yo is wanting this already.”

Other parents said there were surgeons willing to operate on under-17 patients in the states of New South Wales and Queensland.

Moira Deeming MP attempted to get an inquiry into gender clinic practices in Victoria last year. Labor and the Greens opposed the motion and Victoria’s Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas wrote to Deeming to assure her that “The Royal Children’s Hospital DOES NOT provide or refer children to surgical treatment.”

So was Thomas lying or is she ignorant and not across her own portfolio?

Deeming commented on the breaking news that these experimental, irreversible surgeries are being conducted in Victoria.

“Is this wilful ignorance? Is it negligence? Is it incompetence? Do these referrals have the tacit consent of the Health Minister?”, Mrs Deeming asked yesterday.

“Who’s in charge—is it the Health Minister or the zealots at the Royal Children’s Hospital? Who’s going to take responsibility for the surgery that is happening on minors in this state?” 

Mrs Deeming said Victorians she spoke to were very worried about hormonal and surgical interventions for vulnerable children but felt silenced by “the chilling effect” associated with Victoria’s punitive “anti-conversion” laws which entrench the medicalised “gender-affirming” treatment model. 

“They’re extremely concerned that any other non-invasive pathway towards alleviating gender distress might be belittled or ignored or not prioritised,” she said. 

She said the minister could not escape responsibility for gender non-conforming children being medicalised in Victoria, whether in the private or the public sector.

“But if gender surgery is a legitimate, evidence-based treatment, why would you not have it at the Royal Children’s Hospital?,” Mrs Deeming asked.

“The fact is, the Health Minister knows, and we all know, that it is an ideological, harmful intervention based on scant, low-quality evidence, and there are going to be lawsuits coming down the pipeline. 

“The Victorian government cannot avoid responsibility for this scandal.”

Mrs Deeming put out a call for healthcare whistleblowers to contact her.

“We need people who are employed in these hospitals to come forward. I have parliamentary privilege and I’m willing to use it for the sake of helping children and to protect whistleblowers. But we need more evidence.”

Please contact Binary or Moira Deeming if you have information.