Communications data privacy and the Queen’s Speech
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Internet, Liberty on 9 May 2013
As we expected, the Queen’s Speech yesterday did not include a revised “snooper’s charter“. Well, mostly – the Guardian thinks otherwise, but whilst there are areas where the Civil Service are still pushing for better tools to tackle the war-on-terrorists-and-paedophiles they’ve chosen a different tack this time.
The general impression I’ve received from the briefing notes is that whoever prepared them has no idea what they are asking for.
Here is the except from the Queen’s Speech Briefing Notes (PDF link, page 74). I am quoting this at length because the language is important to the following discussion.
When communicating over the Internet, people are allocated an Internet Protocol (IP) address. However, these addresses are generally shared between a number of people. In order to know who has actually sent an email or made a Skype call, the police need to know who used a certain IP address at a given point in time. Without this, if a suspect used the internet to communicate instead of making a phone call, it may not be possible for the police to identify them.
The Government is looking at ways of addressing this issue with CSPs. It may involve legislation
Firstly, let’s look at the notion that a network can associate an IP address with a person. This is fairly easy to refute, because you just have to consider most households have shared computers. So, what about at a computer levels? Well, many households have a single account on a computer and many devices (e.g. iPads, phones, Gaming Consoles) and older operating systems do not have the ability to handle multiple users at all.
This problem is relatively easily solvable, technically. Simply require service providers to operate gateways that end users must log into individually using centrally-issued ID prior to accessing the internet. The technology is there because many large companies run such systems to track abuse and this is certainly a much simpler challenge to solve than previous suggestions around logging everything that happens on the internet. Politically however, such measures would be suicidal. I don’t believe this what is being proposed.
Rather more likely it seems, is the ability to identify an end device, rather than end user. The current generation of IP addressing – IPv4 – does not have enough address space to do this, hence the deployment of Network Address Translation (NAT) to share an IP address between multiple users. Your home broadband probably uses a single public IP for everyone in the house, and large organisations will also use one or a very few public IP addresses for all of their corporate traffic. This is necessary because there are just over 4 billion addresses theoretically available and significantly less than that by the time all the overheads have been taken into account. Ignoring that organisations like Facebook, Twitter and so on need IP addresses themselves to host their content, that’s still less than the number of people on the planet. And many of us have more than one device needing an address.
The next generation of IP, IPv6, has rather more addresses. (Just over three hundred trillion trillion trillion) But IPv6 is not ready yet, and mandating that everyone in the UK use it and could not ever use the older version again would cut us off from large portions of the internet. Economic suicide this time. Even if we could do this, privacy concerns with IPv6 have already been of concern to the technical community. Originally, under a system called EUI-64, the last part of your address was the hardware MAC address of your computer, a unique number rather like a serial number. People realised this allowed devices and users to be tracked rather easily, so they came up with a simple solution – every time your computer connects to an IPv6 network, the last bit of the address is random and changes each time.
As a result, if IPv6 is the solution the mandarins are thinking of, they’ll need to have a specific UK version of computers with this privacy feature disabled. Possible, but difficult to enforce even if they find a way of forcing IPv6 deployment.
There is only one interpretation of the briefing notes that remains that makes sense and the clue is in the last line regarding legislation and service providers. What they are concerned about is large scale address sharing, referred to as Carrier Grade NAT. (CGN) With this, millions of users, such as on Vodaphone or O2, are behind a single IP address. As old-school IPv4 addresses run out, big broadband operators may roll this out for those on fixed lines too. (BT are currently trialling this, for example) The police and security services want to make sure the providers not only log all the technical information for these so they can identify a single household or mobile device, but that they keep the data for long enough to be useful. Where such data is logged by service providers, it is typically only kept for long enough to generate capacity planning reports and handle network abuse – hours or days. Law enforcement works on a much longer timescale, typically weeks or months by which time the data has been thrown away.
However, it would appear the powers required to do all this are already enshrined in the existing Data Retention Directive. So it’s still a little unclear why all this needs to appear in the Queen’s Speech.
As is typical with internet policy matters coming from the government, it’s all a bit vague.
Dear The Right Revd and Right Honourable The Lord Carey of Clifton, FRSA FKC
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 30 March 2013
Dear The Right Revd and Right Honourable The Lord Carey of Clifton, FRSA FKC,
I noticed that you have published your entry into the Oppression Olympics on the front page of today’s Daily Mail. I’ve assessed your entry and unfortunately found it lacking. You will need to try much harder if you want to get on the medals table.
Firstly, “persecuted” groups don’t usually get their ex-leaders screeds published on the front pages, so that might have been a mistake. Also, the repeated references to “Lord” just highlight the automatic membership of parliament that you and your co-persecutees get, so perhaps you should have asked them to strip that out of the article too. Oh, and being a gendered title it also gives away that you’re male. Minus several oppression points.
At least there is no photo in the paper version, because the one in the online version gives away that you’re white. And I don’t think that stick is for walking either, so it appears you’re able-bodied.
Choice of other groups to go after is important too. Attacking the gays probably wasn’t great, perhaps you should have picked a less marginalised group instead? A bit tough I know, because you are a member of the majority religious group in this country.
Finally, I’ll admit to making assumptions here but as you’re married and an archbishop I’m going to hazard a guess that you’re straight. And probably not transgendered, either.
Sorry, what was the basis for your claims of persecution as a middle-class, white, able-bodied, straight, cis-gendered member of the religious majority with an automatic seat in parliament again?
Yours,
Zoe O’Connell
(A bisexual trans woman of uncertain religious beliefs in a same-sex polyamourous relationship whose communities have much to gain from same-sex marriage, but still able-bodied, middle class and white and able to recognise she has a huge amount of privilege)
P.S. Luckily, I don’t think you speak for the majority of Christians. Or even the majority of members of the Anglican church. Pretty sure you’re not speaking for most of the ones I know, anyway.
Another day, another trans-related “sex-by-deception” case
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 22 March 2013
For those who have followed my previous commentary on such cases, much to do with the latest case will not come as much surprise. What is new is that this one was in England, thus increasing the threat that trans folk south of the border might risk criminalisation for entering into a relationship, as well as existing concerns north of the border.
What is not new is that a guilty plea was entered, so this has (by my understanding) not set case law. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no defended case of “sex by deception” bought against a person with a possible trans element has yet succeeded or even proceeded to trail in the UK.
Usual caveats apply in terms of the reporting. In this case, the only source I can find that has reported directly is the Daily Mail. Other outlets have picked up the story, but the timing and quotes used all indicate they’re regurgitating the Daily Mail story. This makes figuring out what actually happened rather more tricky than usual.
In brief, a couple had been involved in a long online relationship since they were barely teenagers but not met in person. They eventually met when both were over 16 and had sex. As a result of McNally, the defendant, being outed they were arrested and charged with six counts of sexual assault by penetration. (The age gap appears to be around the 12 month mark. The Daily Mail deliberately tries to give the impression it is more by quoting the age of one person at the time of the incident and the age of the offender now. This is a routine trick they use)
The prosecutor specifically stated the victim was “sexually assaulted…by deceiving her into believing that she, the defendant, was a boy” and the judge is quoted as referring to it as a “selfish and callous deception” when sentencing and there is no mention of any factors besides gender in the article. I find it difficult to imagine that someone using, say, a prosthetic penis or hand whilst engaging in any intercourse would end up in court. Rather, this case is more about “gay panic” – straight, cis folk being “tricked” into gay relationships by presumed-fake trans identities.
It is not made entirely clear what trans history McNally has and it is entirely possible they will end up identifying as lesbian. However, the defense does mention confusion over gender issues.
The sentence was for three and a half years plus a lifetime on the sex offenders register – years-long prison sentences are pretty much expected with sexual assault cases, which is how this was tried.
Scottish trans man guilty of fraud – just for having a relationship
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 7 March 2013
(Warning: All the news stories linked in here are highly transphobic, with references to acquired genders being a “pretence” or “fake”)
It looks like we have another case of someone trans being prosecuted for “obtaining sex by deception“. I am always wary of mainstream press coverage of cases involving trans people, because the facts can so easily be distorted either through ignorance or, in the case of The Sun’s article on this incident which I’m not going to link to, maliciously.
However, what has been widely reported seems to indicate that in this case, the person being prosecuted was definitely a trans man – they had presented as male for many years, with the STV coverage specifically using the word transsexual and they were already seeing a counsellor. One report also mentions they are on a gender reassignment programme, presumably a reference to a Gender Identity Clinic.
In summary, Wilson plead guilty to two counts of “obtaining sexual intimacy by fraud”. In the first case, this sexual intimacy apparently went no further than kissing and cuddling, with Wilson refusing to engage in anything more.
The second, later case is problematic in that actual intercourse took place and their partner was underage at the time, having mislead Wilson about their age. There was no prosecution for that mentioned however, so it would appear that Wilson’s actions in immediately terminating the relationship and refusing to see her any more when this was revealed were the correct course of action here.
This case makes it clear that the police and courts in Scotland regard failing to disclose trans status prior to kissing/cuddling someone as a criminal offense. Proving you told someone is of course tricky, so unless you’re very “out” there could be trouble ahead.
Wilson has ended up on the sex offender’s register as a result. Full sentencing has not yet taken place.
Edited 1315, 8th March: From the Scottish Transgender Alliance:
“In partnership with Trans Media Watch, we have just received advice to the effect that the charge of sex by fraud in this case does not relate to Wilson presenting as male but instead relates to the use of a substitute object under the pretence that it was a penis and therefore without consent. This means that reporting that states Wilson is in trouble over gender presentation is inaccurate. Please help us to raise awareness of this. We need as many of you as possible to write to the newspapers (and any other media outlets covering this) and explain.“
Edited 1800, 8th March: Initial assurances that the conviction was related to the “use of a substitute object” were incorrect – it has now been confirmed the prosecution was related to identity.
Trans amendments to the Marriage (Same-sex Couples) Bill
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 13 February 2013
A number of amendments for trans people have been submitted formally in parliament, but unless you’re a legal whiz with some spare time to hand it’s not immediately obvious what they are. So, here’s a quick guide to what the relevant ones do…
Amendment 4 – Prevent voiding of marriages with a trans person
At the moment, a spouse can have a marriage voided (As if it had never happened) by claiming they did not know that their partner had a gender recognition certificate at the time they married, and this amendment removes this. There is no similar provision covering, for example, religion or similar and creates a situation whereby a spouse who does know about their partner’s history later claims ignorance if their partner is not very publicly “out”.
Amendment 5 – Remove spousal veto of legal recognition of gender
Because a marriage would, under the existing system, need to be converted to or from a civil partnership on one partner transitioning, there is a requirement for an interim Gender Recognition Certificate to be issued and the existing partnership be annulled prior to full recognition of legal rights. This was done to prevent a spouse being forcibly re-entered into a new relationship (Civil partnership or Marriage) they didn’t want and could not get out of due to the one-year minimum term before divorce can be applied for in a new relationship.
This is no longer the case, but the bill did not reflect that fully. Instead, it allowed a partner to delay or potentially block someone getting full legal rights in their acquired gender by refusing to give consent, a situation that would also incur additional costs for the trans person by forcing them to use the interim GRC process.
The amendment levels the playing field by only issuing an interim GRC if both parties request it, rather than simply if the spouse refuses consent. (As it stands, it also causes an Interim GRC to be issued in the case of a civil partnership, because the current bill does not allow for mixed-sex civil partnerships)
It takes 2 years post-transition to get a GRC, so an unhappy spouse still has plenty of time to apply for divorce.
Amendment 6 is tidy-up related to amendment 5, removing clauses that are no longer relevant.
Amendment 7 – Restoration of lost marriages
This simply allows marriages that had to be annulled so that someone could get legal recognition to be reinstated as if they had never been broken. If you want to know more, Sarah wrote about this for the Huffington Post.
Amendment 8 – Reissue of marriage and birth certificates
The bill did not make reissue of marriage certificates explicit, but this amendment does. It allow allows birth certificates to be reissued, with consent of all concerned. (The other named parent if the child is under 16, otherwise the child themselves)
There is still more we’d like to get done (Fixing pensions issues and swapping gendered terms like husband/wife for gender-neutral and non-binary terms like partner) but time is limited! Hopefully they’ll get in too eventually.
Of course, tabling amendments doesn’t mean they will pass but it does mean we are well on the way.
And finally, many thanks to Dr Julian Huppert MP for his help getting the amendments tabled.
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill – Trans issues
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 25 January 2013
The equal marriage bill (PDF Link, HTML links are inline below) has finally been published. From a trans perspective, schedule 5 is the interesting bit and it’s pretty much as expected from the consultation response.
There will be no equal civil partnerships, but for those seeking a Gender Recognition Certificate it’s possible to convert to marriage first. (Section 9) This is an extra set of hoops to jump through which isn’t ideal, and seems to be at odds with the initial claims that conversion and issuing a GRC could be done as a single process. That it’s possible at all is positive however.
Supposedly you can put in a simultaneous Gender Recognition application in the (unlikely) even that both halves of a civil partnership transition and keep the civil partnership. However, the intention was also that annulment and remarriage for a GRC under the old rules would also happen on the same day, whereas in practice that’s not the case.
The bill makes it clear that any converted marriage is to be treated as continuous from the original date of marriage.
If you’re married and your partner consents, you can get a Gender Recognition Certificate and stay married. (Schedule 5) Foreign marriage and marriages in Northern Ireland would still cause a problem here by the looks of things, but realistically there isn’t much the UK Government can do about those.
I don’t see anything on consummation in the bill, which might be of concern to anyone who is non-op. (I.e. retaining their birth genitals) I need to read the bill cover-to-cover to check that one though.
Finally, what’s missing is any provision to restore marriages lost under the old forced-divorce Gender Recognition provisions. That will upset many people,
(Caveat: I only saw the bill for the first time 25 minutes ago so I may have missed something. I’m sure we’ll hear soon enough from those with more time to analyse it)
UK retains 4th place in Google “most snooped on citizens” list
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Internet, Liberty on 23 January 2013
It’s that time again, when Google release their Transparency Report and I take a look at the per-capita rather than raw data.
The Google Transparency Report lists the number of requests via the courts or law enforcement, by country, for user data. These are often from governments but might also be in response to court orders – the only contry where this is broken down is the United States where The latest figures this time are for the second half of 2012 (2012 H2) so Google are now rather more up to date than they used to be, when they released data 6 months behind. There is remarkably little to report this time, with most countries maintaining their positions in the chart. Australia and France have swapped places, but remain remarkably close to each other, whilst the UK remains in fourth place.
What we do have now that we’ve not had previously is enough data to make it worthwhile charting the progress of Google user data requests over time. The upward trend in the number of requests per country is obvious, as is the fact that despite dropping to fourth place, there is still a steady rise in the number of requests in the UK – we have only dropped down due to other countries increasing their requests at an even more rapid rate.
“Paperless NHS” puts the vulnerable at risk
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 16 January 2013
In the wake of the #TransDocFail hashtag, it has become clear that bad or abusive healthcare at the hands of medical professionals is still as common as it has been historically. Many trans folk have a simple fix for this: don’t tell random medical professionals your full history. This is tougher for trans men but in the case of trans women, “I take HRT and have no uterus or ovaries” tells them everything they need to know. The why simply does not matter one bit in the vast majority of interactions.
But the NHS wants your data, ostensibly because it increases patient safety, and Jeremy Hunt has agreed. Yet again, this is an example of how something that might give a benefit for the majority being wholly unsuitable in both principle and practice for already-marginalised groups. And it is not just medical professionals who will have access to the data: those involved in social care will also gain access.
I doubt that the trans community is the only group affected. One person has already expressed concern that those with mental health issues may also face discrimination. In just the same way as a well-meaning but clueless doctor can assume any complaint must be related to transition, obviously physical conditions often get mistaken for symptoms of mental health conditions in patients who have such a diagnosis.
Not being completely stupid (Hey, stop sniggering at the back) Hunt has promised a opt-out for those that don’t want to be on the new system, just as you can opt-out of the current NHS “Spine” summary database: “You absolutely have to have a process in place for people who don’t want that [data sharing] to happen“.
But opting-out of the spine is tricky, and if you’re obviously opted out of a database that everyone else is on it raises questions.
The Burchill controversy – a mixed blessing for the trans community
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 15 January 2013
This article originally appeared on Liberal Democrat Voice.
I have followed recent mainstream media events unfolding around the Trans community with a mixture of excitement, anxiety and sadness.
Excitement, because it is rare that Trans issues get coverage that isn’t designed to portray us as perpetrators of some hideous evil. Even though the stories started with biased coverage in the Guardian about a doctor under investigation by the General Medical Council, it turned into something more positive when the #TransDocFail hashtag lead to discussions on BBC Radio. Even the continuation of bad reporting had a silver lining, when Julie Burchill’s Transphobic screed in The Observer lead to widespread condemnation from the Internet at large and calls for her to be sacked.
Trans people have put up with biased reporting and name-calling for years, even suffering from the ignominy of having transphobic writers nominated for awards by LGB campaigning groups. The difference here is that, oblivious to the turning of the tide when it comes to hate speech, Julie Burchill and the editors of The Observer finally crossed a line that mainstream opinion could not ignore.
Anxiety, because I worry what will happen to stories like this when the mainstream press gets hold of them. Besides the usual errors, such as erasure of trans men and use of “transsexuals” as a noun rather than an adjective, coverage has been on the whole pretty positive. Except for one point: The anti-Trans lobby has been allowed to rewrite history in portraying a “baying mob” that hounded Suzanne Moore off Twitter, which was the catalyst for Julie Burchill’s piece. In reality, although someone picked her up for her “Brazilian Transsexuals” comment online, that sort of behaviour is so common that, against the background of lady-boy jokes on BBC TV, that it would not even warrant a footnote in the annals of Trans history. It was her subsequent abusive response to polite criticism from non-Trans people on Twitter including the phrase “lopping bits off your body” that angered people.
If there was a mob on Twitter, then the leader was Suzanne Moore who reacted to valid criticism with abuse before flouncing off the site for a couple of days. But despite some disgusting language from Julie Burchill, her version of the “facts” has been accepted almost unquestioningly by many, because it appeared in a national newspaper.
And sadness because the reaction of some has been to complain that people expressed an opinion against hate speech, accusing those who dare speak out against oppression of being “identity politics obsessed lefties”.
Of course, my challenge to this on Twitter (After the piece was publicised on Twitter) was characterised as “intimidating” the proving the point, despite the acknowledgement that I was being polite. I do wonder about the mental processes of anyone involved in politics who thinks a polite exchange is intimidating. Have they ever been in a council meeting?
The crux of this argument seems to be that if anyone dares mention Trans issues at all, they will be mercilessly attacked. The trouble is not that a non-Trans person mentioning Trans issues will cause outrage, as I do not see any such response to excellent posts by Caron Lindsay and Jennie Rigg. The issue comes when you assume a position of privilege but act from a position of ignorance.
Oppressed groups have recently found a voice via the Internet, and sites such as Twitter have recently boosted this even further. Journalists such as Julie Burchill (And others before her, such as Suzanne Moore, David Batty and Julie Bindel) have had a voice via the pages of The Guardian and The Observer that enables them to reach a million people. A voice that, according to the Leveson report, “fails to treat members of the transgender and intersex communities with sufficient dignity and respect” and “continues to refer to the transgender community in derogatory terms, holding transgender people up for ridicule“.
Complaining that these people are being silenced when they have such a loud voice that has gone hitherto unchallenged is simple oppression of those who have never had that voice.
If there is an issue with the kind of pieces these people have been writing for years expressed on Twitter, then consider that the internet is revealing decades-old inequalities and injustices, not creating them.
#TransDocFail hashtag: The Lowlights
Posted by Zoe O'Connell in Equality on 9 January 2013
Following on from the news that one of the few private doctors dealing with Trans issues has had complaints made against him by fellow doctors, Sarah Brown suggested that Trans people tweet their bad experiences of doctors using the #TransDocFail hashtag. Most of these failures go uninvestigated, because people are afraid of not being believed or having vital treatment witheld as the following demonstrate:
@AutistLiam: Told counsellor (who also does NHS counselling) abt abusive, gaslight-y behaviour from psych. Was told “She’d never do that!” #TransDocFail
@AutistLiam: For example, I never complained about my abusive psychbecause I didn’t want to end the only NHS route out of Place-I-lived #TransDocFail
@InWhichAlex: Urologist then stops anyone else trying to treat me, after formal complaint asking for him to no longer be involved in my care #TransDocFail
@Planktonette: Charing Cross GIC told my psych that I was suicidal asrevenge, after they discovered a negative blog post I wrote about them.#TransDocFail
@TransDocFailAno: “#transdocfail I tried to complain, at which point I was told the next appointment I had for arranging second opinion would be cancelled.”
@TransDocFailAno: “#transdocfail I am terrified of talking about my experiences because I am afraid of having treatment withdrawn by the GIC.”
The hashtag took off in a big way. There are thousands of tweets now, but below are a hundred or so grouped by the most common themes emerging from the trend. Even the General Medical Council themselves joined in, pointing people at resources for complaining:
@gmcuk: We have a website to help patients if they’re concerned about the care they’ve received from a doctor http://ow.ly/gDmvQ #TransDocFail
If you’d like to contribute yourself but don’t want to out yourself, an anonymous service @TransDocFailAno, is available via Tumblr.
The NHS doesn’t do that!
Think you can go to the GPs and get treatment for Gender Dysphoria? According to some GPs, the NHS doesn’t deal with Trans people…
@Tara_Hewett: Doctor at GP drop in refused to believe i was seeing endocronolygist on nhs “all that trans stuff is only available privately” #TransDocFail
@auntysarah: When I approached GP surgery in 2005, the doctor had never heard of gender dysphoria and “The NHS definitely doesn’t do that” #TransDocFail
The excuse for this is often because doctors have watched too many TV programmes about Trans regret, and think everyone is like that.
@auntysarah: My gynaecologist treated me with hostility, asked if I”regretted it”, suggested trans women eventually detransition & take T #TransDocFail
@qbnaith: My psychiatrist initially refused to refer me cos “most people regret transitioning” #transdocfail
Sometimes, the NHS really doesn’t “do that”. Or at least, bits of it.
@MissCassHoskins: #transdocfail Brighton PCT wont fund laser treatment as they don’t see the benefit
@S0phieH: also the NHS denied facial hair removal, so sometimes I’m terrified to walk outside, till I can afford it myself #TransDocFail
@auntysarah: Most PCTs will not find hair removal from vaginoplastydonor tissue. Apparently vaginal hairballs are “cosmetic”. #TransDocFail
@mixosaurus: In Notts PCT, *all* cross sex hormones were red-listed. GPs didn’t have authority to prescribe; GIC didn’t have funds #TransDocFail
@quarridors: Lots of impressively depressing stuff on the #TransDocFail hashtag. I eventually got good treatment but my PCT refused to fund meds in 2002.
The long wait
So you’ve convinced your GP that in fact the NHS does do this sort of thing. And they’ve written a referral for you… or have they? Strangely, referrals for Trans issues often seem to end up lost at the bottom of the pile.
@JessWardman: had a referral to psychotherapy lost for nearly a year. Still no idea why. At time, thought waits that long were normal. #TransDocFail
@NotRightRuth: I’m very lucky – only 5 years from seeing GP to getting surgery. Mostly nice doctors. Still can’t afford laser treatment. #TransDocFail
@SimonelyMe: Overall because if my 3years 2months & counting wait for a GIC appointment I have been self medicating for 9months #transdocfail
@bluefoo: First GIC appointment next week, first went to GP for help 44 months ago #TransDocFail
@kara_louise18: #transdocfail having my GIC referral sitting on my GP’s desk and him not doing owt about it for ages, until I went and reminded him.
@lilylayer4: #transdocfail I learned my request for treatment was denied in a copy of a letter sent to my GP, without explanation or after support.
@major___tom: My GP repeatedly told me she’d referred me when she hadn’t. Took 11 months from asking to be referred to being referred. #TransDocFail
@Ithlin: @Lady_Muck666 CHX
told me that they were unable to type out a letter dictated on 13/12/12 earlier than Feb ’13. #TransDocFail
At least delays are not outright refusal to give treatment or right letters
@Aurum_Boss: My GP refsued to re-prescribe anything for 6 years because estrogen was “off-licence”. #TransDocFail
@CherylMorgan: GP refused to attest that I’d had surgery so I could get a GRC. I had all my hospital notes, and, you know, a vagina… #TransDocFail
@Christabel321: Former GP told me to pull myself together and stop wasting his time #TransDocFail
@Ginnheim: I knew a pre-hysto trans man denied HRT after 3 years of being on it.His ‘monthlies’ returned,making him lethargic & miserable #TransDocFail
@IntercomTrust: had a teenage client who’s Dr asked him to wait a yearbecause then “you’ll be at uni and the Dr there can deal with it” #TransDocFail
@Lady_Muck666: Doc in Jersey refused me treatment point blank I paid £40 for a badly spelled letter telling me2 go away #TransDocFail
@LymanSays: I was told to ‘focus on [my] disability, that’s what’sreally important’ – transition apparently being an optional goodie. #transdocfail
@elided_: The first GP I told later told me he could no longer treat me because I was trans; he later shredded my notes #TransDocFail
@elided_: Subsequent doctors practice withdrew post-op HRT without asking me; had to refuse to leave surgery to get it back #TransDocFail
@itsjustabout451: GP: i’m ‘wasting his time’ when he has to prescribe meds as my GIC won’t prescribe but writes to him ‘recommending’ he does… #transdocfail
@laurenisolde: #TransDocFail #lies “Legally I can’t prescribe hormones until you have a therapist’s letter”. (Then I found an informed consent clinic)
@lolvixen: #TransDocFail I first saw my GP for help 13 years ago. He refused and humiliated me, and suicide was preferable to risking a different GP.
@major___tom: GP refused to write me a letter to say I live full-time as male because he said only an endocrinologist could certify that. #TransDocFail
@wiriamu: Only doc in my old area that’d treat me without outright contempt or scorn was a pediatrician. I was 23. #TransDocFail
The Transsexual broken arm
So you have treatment! Now every medical issue you have will be related. Broken your arm? It’s probably because you’re Trans. This problem, I have to point out, isn’t confined to the Trans community. When meeting with the General Medical Council last year, they report that people with disabilities or mental health problems get the same treatment.
@PublicMatt: Denied care for a heart condition because “I have all this gender stuff going on so it was probably in my head” #TransDocFail
@GreenSkyOverMe: RT @[protected] Insistence on genital exam before chest xray for chest pain #transdocfail #AandEfail
@InWhichAlex: Made to wait >2 years for psych appointment (at GIC) before being treated for clear urological problem #TransDocFail
@Diran_Sky: I was denied access to a therp. for my depression as Iwas “already seeing” someone at the GIC. for 30mins. every 3-6 months #TransDocFail
@Flaneurble: My GP recently outed me to two student docs and then referred to me as a trsnsgender. I only wanted a repeat prescription. #TransDocFail
@AutistLiam: My GPs are nice and friendly and completely clueless about trans issues. Suggest every ailment is a side effect of HRT. #TransDocFail
@Inkysloth: Local Mental Health services kept refusing my referrals for phobia support as I was seeing a gender identity psychiatrist! #TransDocFail
@Jenny_Alto: Denied access to local MH counseling service because “you’re with the GIC”. The GIC don’t do non-specific counseling. #TransDocFail
@PublicMatt: Told I probably have BPD by a dr who saw me for 15 mins based on “gender confusion” despite living as male for years #TransDocFail
@PublicMatt: Having my physical condition repeatedly called psychosomatic because I’m trans and also have MH problems #transdocfail
@SemiStealth: GP refers me to hospital 30 miles away even if it’s just something a simple as a stomach ache #transdocfail
@Tara_Hewitt: Hearing consultant flicked through medical file questioning about hormones &my gender dysphoria diagnosis NONE OF HIS BUSINESS #TransDocFail
@a_cognito: #TransDocFail I need a (hopefully) routine gynae checkup, but my GP wants to send me back to GIC at Charing Cross
@auntysarah: A trans lady I know was refused emergency access to gynaecology for over a year because PCT was arguing over how to pay for it #TransDocFail
@embrownbill: Admitted to A&E with dizziness, asked to explain side-effects of my medicine. It’s the same HRT prescribed to 1,000s of women. #TransDocFail
@flippac: Shrink blames financial problems due to DWP admin errors on “problems managing money”, apparently transition-related #TransDocFail
@flippac: Clinic has no disability training. Disabled, can’t work? No RLE, no HRT. Obviously that depression’s about your transition #TransDocFail
@major___tom: Routine appts about non-trans stuff turned into chats about my gender even when I just wanted help for a hurt back or w/e. #TransDocFail
@major___tom: GP thought depression was ‘normal’ given my being trans & thus ADs pointless. Even though they alleviate the depression. #TransDocFail
@scattermoon: @TheCraftyTracy #TransDocFail H was taken to hospital after losing 2 pints of blood post-op. They didn’t do anything.
@scattermoon: @TheCraftyTracy #TransDocFail actually, they did. They brought in a team of nurses to gawk at her because they’d never seen one before.
@schokopflaster: All docs have to unbiddenly talk to me about trans* after learning why I’m taking hormones. Even when I see them about a cold. #TransDocFail
Pointless abuse
Sometimes, it goes beyond simple refusal to treat and turns into outright abuse, either deliberate or unthinking, and inappropriate treatment.
@AutistLiam: NHS Psych told me I wanted to transition to male cos Iwas too ugly to live as a woman. Also told me I’d never pass as male #TransDocFail
@Diran_Sky: RT my wife was told by sexual health clinic that she’sat high risk for AIDS/STIs because she “has sex with transgenders” #transdocfail
@Diran_Sky: RT was turned away at reception of gyno who shouted about “it” and “do they have a vagina” – needed external granuloma removed #transdocfail
@JessWardman: was called a “shemale” by the gender specialist psychotherapist pre-GIS referral #TransDocFail
@LupieStardust: District nurse taking blood asked me if I was going to have genital surgery. Only there for bloods! #TransDocFail
@Oh_Dani_Gal: With that doctor I was required to undergo unnecessarymedical exams to receive HRT, e.g. regular orchidometer checks. #TransDocFail
@PublicMatt: Despite explaining my situation was told before a sexual health check that I was “really a woman” #TransDocFail
@TheCraftyTracy: #TransDocFail during my visits to A&E during this episode I got groped by a doctor and lectured by a nurse how it was a shame effort was
@TheCraftyTracy: #TransDocFail put into trans treatment while there was no cure for cancer. Which is what I needed to hear when bleeding to death.
@TinTower: Leeds GIC, as I mentioned last night, were really keen to perform a genital exam. My GP, thankfully, wasn’t. #TransDocFail
@a_cognito: #TransDocFail recent foot surgery, I told anaesthetist I’d had vaginoplasty. His reply “Well it takes all sorts….er…I’m OK with that”
@a_cognito: #TransDocFail first GIC appt, presenting as female, friendly blood nurse saw I was trans on paperwork “OMG you’re one of them!” #80s #AIDS
@auntysarah: A historical #TransDocFail – in the 1990s, the UK’s largest gender clinic would insist you divorced prior to treatment.
@eiridescent: Sexually assaulted (breast groping) by endo as a condition of receiving necessary care. #TransDocFail
@elided_: Repeatedly been told by GIC that long-term post-op complications are “because you don’t sleep with men”. Feel that’s my fault. #TransDocFail
@major___tom: Psychologist, when I asked for a CHX referral from her, asked me how often and how I masturbate #TransDocFail
@marliesanna: First thing my GP said after I’d worked up the courageto tell him I was trans: ‘You don’t exactly have a very feminine body’ #TransDocFail
@tanyabloomfield: #transdocfail Dr Green (Charing Cross GIC) “you’re going to be an ugly woman”
@zoeimogen: I rang NHS Direct to get help for partner. NHS Direct doctor spoke to them and told them to leave me as I was an “abomination” #transdocfail
@zoeimogen: Even within the T healthcare community, there’s prejudice. One Dr was worried about “creating she-men” http://www.complicity.co.uk/blog/2012/03/unintentionally-creating-she-men/… #transdocfail
Doctor knows best
You’re really gay, or too young to transition, or it’s your mother. Or something. If an expert said otherwise, I’m still not sure.
@AutistLiam: Me: I’ve lived as male for over a year & want hormones Psych: Young people can live successfully as trans w/o hormones#transdocfail (contd)
@Flaneurble: @auntysarah
when I went to GP about GD he said ‘nothing wrong with being gay’ and sent me to a family planning clinic .WTF !! #TransDocFail
@Ginnheim: GP refused to prescribe HRT even *after* I’d been recommended them by GIC over concerns that I was “not taking them safely” #TransDocFail
@HannaMadeIt: I talked to
my doc about wanting treatment for my dysphoria, I wasn’t “trans enough” #TransDocFail
@Inkysloth: One Gender
Identity psychiatrist suggested I was trans because I was rebelling against my lesbian mother. #TransDocFail
@JessWardman: had it supposed that I wasn’t really trans because I played D&D and Jess was apparently just a new character for me #TransDocFail
@KelestiMMO: #TransDocFail my first doc told me that my disconnect to my body, my reflection, my life, all needed to be medicated, not treated.
@Lady_Muck666: I saw 3 psych pro’s about being trans, they ALL told me I was just depressed and to get a job and I’d feel better #TransDocFail
@LupieStardust: Told by
psychiatrist at pre-referral evaluation that I was too young to “know for definite”. I was 21. #TransDocFail
@MizBrea: First doc I saw in Virginia said “You’re already Intersex, so why bother with the transition nonsense? Isn’t that enough?” #TransDocFail
@Oh_Dani_Gal: Had working, appropriate HRT doses severely reduced bya doctor because they, and not
I, wanted my libido to return. #TransDocFail
@Starlight_Witch: “you have to be 18 before you make any serious decisions about your gender” #TransDocFail
@flippac: Surgeon talks about “the cosmetic op”, mansplains my own sexuality to me. Gee, I had no idea what my clit is/isn’t capable of. #TransDocFail
@flippac: Repeatedly implied that I should not identify as butch. Care coordinator cedes to clinic re existence of queer gender roles #TransDocFail
@jackiets: When i first went to my GP and explained how i felt hereferred me to a Behavioural Specialist….the dark ages of 2002 #TransDocFail
@laurenisolde: #TransDocFail My first endo flat out refused to prescribe hormones because I wasn’t wearing women’s clothing. Apparently I wasn’t serious.
@marliesanna: Sexuologist told me I wasn’t trans and shouldn’t go the GIC because I disliked my penis, not severely disliked it. #TransDocFail
@marliesanna: Sexuologist officially diagnosed me with transvetic fetishism as GID was too definitive and this was the closest alternative. #TransDocFail
@qbnaith: When I said I had no interest in genital surgery my GPtold me I ought to have it cos “sex is very important to some people” #transdocfail
@qbnaith: As if sex is the reason for transitioning, and as if Icouldn’t possibly have sex with my genitals the way they currently are.#transdocfail
@wiriamu: Was accused by my former endo of supplementing my hormones when she’d prescribed wrong dosage. #TransDocFail
@wiriamu: Former shrink wanted me to wait till I was 30 to transition and ‘had experienced male life fully’ #TransDocFail
@wiriamu: Said shrink was also convinced that I had Aspergers, and was transitioning to ‘give myself a perpetual role to play’ #TransDocFail
Administrative errors and misgendering
Another common complaint is failure of the NHS to be able to update records to accommodate new names, titles and genders properly. That’s assuming it’s an administrative mistake of course, and not deliberate misgendering or “outing”.
@AutistLiam: @christineburns NHS Psych started “accidentally” mispronouning me and using wrong name when I tried to get her to follow it #TransDocFail
@AutistLiam: Despite repeatedly being directed to NHS policy, health centre staff kept saying I’d need a dx of GID before changing records #TransDocFail
@AutistLiam: NHS policy is to change name, title and sex on patientrecord on demand. NHS staff refused to believe this when I told them. #TransDocFail
@Chastance: MH nurse told suicidal me that they couldn’t use my name because some imaginary guy might want to go by ‘spike’. #TransDocFail
@FyremaneFoxx: Been setting up with new GP, when filling out forms onFriday, I was changeing all the Mr. To Ms. & male to female #TransDocFail
@InWhichAlex: Psych invented name to call me because I wouldn’t tell him my birth assigned name #TransDocFail
@JessWardman: was informed by docs that was not possible to change gender marker at surgery and title was gender-linked. #TransDocFail
@Lady_Muck666: Went to my GP presenting as female, asked to change my records, even now they still refer to me as male… #TransDocFail
@SimonelyMe: I was continually referred to by my former name even though I had provided copies of the NHS documents on gender variance #transdocfail
@a_cognito: #TransDocFail I volunteered I was trans to a chest surgeon who then referred to me as he/him to the nurses
@amywok1: @auntysarah just transitioned nervously sat in drs waiting room. Doctor shouted “old name!” , outed by gp. #TransDocFail
@cnlester: My GP was, at first, supportive. Then called me a ‘pretty young lady’ during a chest exam – despite my top surgery. #TransDocFail
@ctonry: GPs routinely out me to nurses via blood test forms #transdocfail
@ctonry: GP thought I was cis at the beginning of an appointment, but managed to misgender me by the end #transdocfail
@embrownbill: 3 years after explaining how dangerous (and unlawful) it is, my GP still prints HRT prescriptions for “Mr Emma Brownbill”~ #TransDocFail
@embrownbill: GP put previous name and trans status on a referral for unrelated treatment. Only found out when I needed the letter for Uni. #TransDocFail
@major___tom: Took receptionist 4 months & 3 copies of my deed poll to update name & title. Having Miss Tom Robinson outed me in meantime. #TransDocFail
@major___tom: Receptionist ‘forgot to write down’ my first psych appt for a CHX referral & I had to rebook. Another 2 months’ delay. #TransDocFail
@thebeardlessone: Also, he filled in a form with a preferred name box without asking me, put in my birth name. I have no proof this was fixed.#TransDocFail
@thekeywordgeek: Repeated misgendering of elderly trans woman friend dying of cancer by male nursing staff who shoulda known better. #TransDocFail
@zoeimogen: Doctor treating one of my kids refused to use “Ms. O’Connell” in notes. Insisted on male titles/pronouns. In front of the kid. #transdocfail
Jumping through hoops
Can’t make an appointment? Dared go private? It’s back to square one.
@Aurum_Boss: In 2004 Charing Cross GIC kicked me off their treatment programme because I’d missed one appointment. #TransDocFail
@Diran_Sky: depression, anxiety and heavy snow made me miss 1 app at the GIC, then i was informed I had been removed from their books #TransDocFail
@S0phieH: #TransDocFail cancelled appointment for surgery to look after dying father. can’t get another appt. without ‘re-proving’ I’m still trans
@Tara_Hewitt: Diagnosed privately wanted nhs surgury referrals afteryrs on hrt told id have to go back at beginning of treatment pathway #TransDocFail
@auntysarah: A few weeks from surgery, Cambs PCT said they wouldn’tfund me unless I started as a new GIC patient, with a 2 year wait. #TransDocFail
@auntysarah: This was, ostensibly, so the referral would meet with their surgeon’s acceptance criteria. It was the same surgeon. #TransDocFail
Non-binary genders don’t exist
Even vague transgressions will be punished: I demand that you conform to my ideals about gender! Remember Vazquez from Aliens? Some doctors don’t apparently. (Really, this topic could do with a blog post on it’s own.
@Diran_Sky: Any talk of being non-binary was quashed swiftly. very much felt binary was the only way they would accept #TransDocFail
@miah_: My first therapist told me to do things a “real girl” would do. Her example was to go see “Sex in the City(movie)”. #TransDocFail
@Oh_Dani_Gal: Was refused transition treatment for being lesbian, riding motorcycles, and not wearing skirts and heels to appointments. #TransDocFail
@Sirius7dk: Interesting to read the #TransDocFail hashtag whilst i am on my way to a doctor thathas already refused me HRT for being non-binary
Zoe’s Feeds