A report by an international trans-activists group explains the tactics being used to win legal self-identification of gender with minimal public or legislative scrutiny.

The report, which is based on research in eight European countries, and was prepared by law firm Dentons for the International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation, goes some way to explain how major changes to legal definitions of sex and gender have made rapid progress in just a few years.

The report, Only Adults: good practices in legal recognition for youth, advises campaigners to:

avoid press exposure,

influence political parties by infiltrating their youth organisations,

hide gender self-ID among more popular reforms such as gay marriage,

be wary of compromise.

It also suggests government agendas can be shaped by drafting legislative proposals before civil servants do; and by acting quickly to take advantage of ‘windows of opportunity’, such as any events that create a backlash against anti-LGBTI sentiment.

Published in November 2019, the report confirms the fears of feminists and gay rights’ advocates who want scrutiny of the impact of these proposed legal changes on existing sex-based rights and protections of women and homosexuals.

Instead of transparent public debate, the report, which was funded by the charitable foundation of the global news organisation Thomson Reuters, advises campaigners to advance their demands with decision-makers away from public scrutiny.

In the UK, the report says, “public campaigning has been detrimental to progress.” Instead, “a technique which has been used to great effect” in countries such as Ireland, “is the limitation of press coverage and exposure.”

In influencing decision-makers, it says: “Activists found it particularly helpful to get youth wings [of] political parties on side, as main wings of political parties are often keen to listen and take the views of their younger counterparts seriously.”

In a Norway and Denmark, for example, “campaigners developed strong ties with youth politicians, who then presented to the senior members of their parties on the changes that were needed.”

This technique was effective because “the changes were being suggested from within their own party rather than an external organisation.”

And, there are “clear benefits where NGOs managed to get ahead of the government and publish progressive legislative proposal before the government had time to develop their own.”

As well as shielding proposals from public scrutiny, the report advises hiding self-identification among other reforms.

“In Ireland, Denmark and Norway, changes to the law on legal gender recognition were put through at the same time as other more popular reforms such as marriage equality legislation. This provided a veil of protection, particularly in Ireland, where marriage equality was strongly supported, but gender identity remained a more difficult issue to win public support for.”

The report names Belgium, Malta and Norway as examples of “good practice” in advancing gender self-identification. Other countries included in the research were France, Portugal, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Denmark.

Read the full report, Only Adults: good practices in legal recognition for youth.

Read more on this story The document that reveals the remarkable tactics of trans lobbyists

The Spectator

A great deal of the transgender debate is unexplained. Campaigners for gender recognition law ‘should avoid media’

Gazette

Campaigners to change the law to allow children to change their legal gender should ‘avoid excessive press coverage and exposure’ according to an international survey singling out the UK for criticism.