direct link to article: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/transgender-guidance-for-schools-based-on-flawed-data-rp8scscll?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1629094343

Cherrypicked statistics to further the narrative that transgender children are at an extreme risk of suicide and must be affirmed at all costs.

From the article:

Shirley-Anne Somerville, the education secretary, last week unveiled 70 pages of practical but not binding suggestions that are meant to make life easier for some of the country’s most vulnerable young people. However, a section which suggests that 57 per cent of trans youths with unsupportive parents attempted to take their own lives has come under scrutiny. The figure was based on research that was carried out by the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and Delisle Youth Services in 2012. ...

A former government official observed that these numbers came from a sample that was:

• not randomly sampled

• had only 84 people

• was on age ranges 16-24 so not directly applicable for younger students, who this 70-page document is ostensibly about.

The idea that about 60% of children 15 years or younger attempt suicide if they have a parent who is "unsupportive" (vague word) of their transgender identification is really extreme, and requires better evidence than that.

The document also suggests that some trans children are so worried about going to the toilet that they avoid drinking at school. Schools have been advised to introduce modesty curtains in changing rooms and make disabled lavatories available to transgender children to make life easier for them.