| Trans Kids Deserve Better | |
| Abbreviation: | TKDB |
| Formation: | 2024 |
| Purpose: | Transgender rights and access to gender-affirming healthcare |
| Region Served: | United Kingdom |
Trans Kids Deserve Better is a British action network consisting primarily of trans youth. The group advocates for transgender rights in the UK including access to gender-affirming care for minors and protections from discrimination, deadnaming, and misgendering in schools. The group has protested by occupying the NHS headquarters and the Department for Education headquarters. It also released crickets during an LGB Alliance meeting.
The group's first protest occurred in July 2024 during the Pride in London parade, when two activists with the group climbed the NHS England headquarters in response to their decision to cease prescription of puberty blockers for trans youth in May.[1] [2] [3] They held a sign above the building saying "we are not pawns for your politics" and were eventually joined by other transgender youth, with one holding a sign saying "The Cass Report is built on transphobia".[4] The group made three demands: equal access to gender-affirming healthcare, protections against misgendering and deadnaming, and to no longer be used as "political pawns".
This sit-in lasted for four days.[5] The group was supported on Twitter with the hashtag "#TransKidsDeserveBetter" and raised nearly £7,000 from digital donations.[5] In an interview on the second day of the protest, one of the protesters said that "Decisions are being taken that affect our lives without any trans people in the room, let alone trans young people."[6]
In August 2024, the group led a week-long occupation of a Department for Education (DfE) building in London, saying that a draft guidance produced by the conservative government in December 2023 which had been delivered to British teaching institutions created "confusion" and an "unsafe environment".[7] [8] In May, the DfE had introduced guidance that would ban lessons on the concept of gender identity, specified all lessons on trans people should focus on the legality of transitioning and that legal gender changes are reserved for those over 18, and mandated that while in school "boys cannot be legally classified as girls or vice versa".[7] In an statement to Them magazine, one of the activists explained the group decided to target the Department for Education "because in the UK, at the moment, trans kids are treated horribly in education."[7] Following national coverage of the protest, in a statement to ITV News, the department said that they would meet with the group "as soon as possible".[9]
In October 2024, the group drew notice when protesters released sacks of crickets during the conference of the LGB Alliance as one of the final talks was about to start.[10] The group released a satirical video during the incident where a trans youth dressed as a cricket reported on the protest and stated that the LGB Alliance has opposed bans on conversion therapy and platforms "proud speeches about shutting down trans healthcare". The group released a statement following the protest: "6 of us released about 6,000 crickets into hate group LGB Alliance's annual conference. The result of the conference, if it had gone ahead as planned, would have been an acceleration of transphobic hate and misinformation, which drives much of the attack on our healthcare and our dignity."[11] [12]
Stonewall co-founder Lisa Power and Gay Liberation Front (GLF) veteran Roz Kaveney lauded their protest of the NHS and against injustice towards trans youth as reminiscent of the original Pride protests.[4]
JK Rowling, who spoke at the interrupted LGB Alliance conference, called the group's actions "homophobic".[12]