In recent years, media coverage of transgender issues has become more frequent and generally more sympathetic, and we have also seen a range of legislative and policy reforms that have improved the legal and administrative recognition of transgender people. Perhaps unsurprisingly, community understanding, acceptance and engagement with transgender issues has grown exponentially. All of this is good. So good that I sometimes forget that there are some people who still disagree, quite strongly: people who believe that the biology a person is born with, either shouldn't ever be altered, or that it somehow limits who a person can be. Debates about the recognition of transgender identities are not new. They have been going on, in various forums, for decades. What is changing, although it occurs less frequently, is the degree to which these debates have become more public, more polarised, and more emotive. It's a situation that discourages critical engagement and fosters misunderstanding. According to beyondblue , 90 per cent of transgender people experience stigma or discrimination, including verbal abuse, physical threats and violence. These experiences directly result in increased rates of depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide. The National LGBTI Health Alliance reports that up to 50 per cent of transgender people have attempted suicide at least once. Having worked closely with transgender communities, none of these statistics surprise me. I can put faces and names to them all. This harm is already happening. We can't wish it away by refusing to have the conversations we need to have.

Although I disagree with Bronwyn Winter, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, about a number of things, I am pleased that we each have an opportunity to air our differing views as part of the IQ2 Debate hosted by The Ethics Centre in Sydney on Thursday March 3 when we discuss the topic "Society Must Recognise Trans People's Gender Identities". In my view, our approach to transgender issues should be informed by human rights principles including the right to privacy, freedom from discrimination, security of person, and self-determination. The application of these principles requires the legal recognition of transgender people's identities, as is already provided under Australian law, including State and Commonwealth discrimination protections. This means that each one of us is entitled to autonomy over our own bodies, identities and lives. If I am a young person, and a medical practitioner agrees that I have the maturity and capacity to understand and provide informed consent to the temporary delay of puberty – either to minimise my psychological distress or to provide me and my family with more time to discuss the issues – then on what basis should anyone else intervene? There are many circumstances where a doctor may decide to hormonally delay puberty. It happens, without any debate, when it is for reasons unrelated to a young person's gender identity. It is a temporary and completely reversible process that has been clinically researched and successfully used in many parts of the world for more than 15 years.

I do not accept the proposition that young people are being pressured into medical transitions simply because of the way they express their gender. I've met so many of these young people. I have listened to them, their parents, their doctors and their schools. This is an issue that is clearly being driven by the young people themselves – not on the basis of how they are perceived by others, but on the basis of who they know themselves to be. Although Winter and I disagree on these issues, we also share some common ground. We are both concerned by the ways so many people are constrained by gender stereotypes. We both believe that people should be allowed to explore beyond these assumed limitations if that is what they want to do. We both understand the fundamental impact that gender has on all of our lives – and we both want to find ways to have legitimate discussions about this that aren't so damaging for so many people. Part of this is about creating room for people with different views to explore the issues; robustly, honestly and respectfully. It is also about genuinely listening to each other so we can develop ways of understanding the issues that will bring us closer together. Peter Hyndal is the Director of Transformative and provides transgender related policy advice and training.