Understand the LGBTQIA+ news: Review says WellBN both 'harmed' and "alleviated the distress" of Trans+ kids by providing them with gender affirming care

Another summer where we are facing horrific racism-fueled rioting in the UK, in a political storm whipped up by right-wing politicians who've sought to gain by fueling tensions – while families at the centre of the deaths which have led to these riots, have called for calm and community cohesion.

Meanwhile, we draw closer to a parliamentary deadline to disapprove a code of conduct to stop Trans+ people from being segregated from single-sex services.

If you're angry, scared and worried about the state of the UK's growing rollback on human rights, you're not alone. But I write this to you, knowing that while fear is powerful, hope for a better Britain is what sustains me. 

So much of this hate and noise is driven by a loud minority who seek to divide us. The culture and communities I know reject this hate, and want to create a better Britain that’s built on love, support and care for the most vulnerable.

Week by week, QueerAF’s work is to bring you queer accountability journalism, so you can navigate the misinformation in the media. But that's just our short term goal. In the long term, we're working to change the media, by investing in a new generation of LGBTQIA+ journalists who can work in the sector and switch off the hate at its source.

This Pride month, we're asking you to take two quick actions every week, that you can do in your jammies while reading this newsletter, to help QueerAF change the media – and fuel activists all over the UK.

First up, we need you to sign up to our membership drive. Two weeks in, and we're just over half way, at 58% towards our goal of 50 new members. But we need your help to smash that target…

Alongside supporting our Pride Month membership pledge (which comes with discounts to make it super accessible), this week we're asking you to click this link and add us as a 'preferred source' on Google. This action counts, even if you've moved away from using the tech giant's services and search engine.

Our story on the Darlington Nurses featured in Google News and search alongside The Telegraph and BBC in the top three stories. That slot offered the public a prominent alternative to gender-critical biased reporting on that story. Thousands read our reporting rather than relying on the mainstream media, which consistently fails to deliver journalistic justice to our community.

Their algorithms are far from perfect, and their ethics are all too often off the mark. But in an age when we need to win allies over to support us, or at least make sure the general public receives the same quality of information we have in our community, we need your help to cut through the noise.

It's two clicks: first on this link, then to confirm, and you can come back to the newsletter within half a minute to understand the LGBTQIA+ news this week. Thank you.

In pride,
Jamie Wareham - QueerAF Founder

Understand the LGBTQIA+ headlines and keep track of the latest queer content and perspectives. QueerAF is written by Jamie Wareham, and a different queer creative each week.

💬 This week:

• WellBN: An investigation found that gender affirming care allivieated the distress of children, but concluded the GP put children in "potential harm" by doing this outisde of NHS pathways. We explore.
• Schools guidance: Another document on schools is out for consultation, furthering the segregation of Trans+ people in education. We look at the EHRC technical guidance.
• Strength: Have you tried excercise may seem trite advice when said without the context of the hard work, but for Jared Mustafa-Holzapfel, strength sports made the difference, as he explores in our latest collaboration with Transcribe, for the Queer Gaze.

Skip the doomscrolling and support queer creatives instead. We are QueerAF – and so are you.

WellBN “alleviated the distress” of children “in the short term” by providing puberty blockers

TL;DR: A report into the WellBN GP service has concluded that the service "was inappropriately prescribing medications" including puberty blockers and hormones to children and young people “for the clinical indication of gender dysphoria”. However, it noted that the practice "does appear to have alleviated the distress of many of the 78 children and young people in the short term."