It’s been an important week for children of transitioners in the UK and Europe, as the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that trans people do not have the right to alter their child’s birth certificate.
We were quoted in Josephine Bartosch’s excellent article on the ruling:
https://thecritic.co.uk/mother-means-something/
Here’s the perspective of a frequent contributor to this site:
Children of transpeople across Europe today can breathe a sigh of relief. The European Court of Human Rights have confirmed in their latest judgement (below) what we have been saying for years. Our mums remain our mothers and our dads remain our fathers – whatever form trans ideological beliefs/ biology denialism takes in their own lives, they can’t remove the rights of their children to have accurate birth certificates of our own, reflecting the reality of our birth. The extent of trans attempts to remove the rights of their children to accurate documents and birth records is a warning to everyone else just what these extremists think of everyone else’s rights- they don’t even care about their own children’s.
To be honest it’s devastating that some transpeople demonstrate such contempt for their own children that this ever came to court. Since the GRA our grandmothers have had to accept that the birth sex of the child they carried has been falsified by the government – but birth certificates are for the child not the parent. Our dads lie proudly that they are ‘women now’ – as if a GRC certificate has changed reality. To find these same controlling men (or vice versa) now want to deny reality for their children too is vile. Someone has to say no to these bullies- thank you to the courts for finally doing so. (There’s a way to go though! https://childrenoftransitioners.org/2021/12/28/the-judges-bench-book/)
Many CoTs were immensely relieved when the UK Supreme Court said no to Freddie McConnell in 2020- who gave birth to her lovely baby then wanted to be recorded as father on the baby’s birth certificate instead.
When it’s your dad who says he’s a woman it can lead to him trying to force you to pretend he’s your mum – even though you have a mum already, and know he’s a bloke! How can people be so cruel to their own children? It’s a basic human need to know who gave birth to you. https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version
Many CoTs are grateful that the UK Supreme Court confirmed that gaslighting mothers and fathers do NOT have the right of reality denial for their children too. Transpeople CAN’T falsify our birth certificates as well as their own. Only females give birth- and it is deeply painful for Cots that some transpeople want to deny the reality of our birth in this way.
Children of transpeople have the right to have the mother who gave birth to us recorded on our legal documents- like everyone else – and it’s one of the most important documents we have, especially as you get older and recognise the extent of the coercive control and contempt for their children some transpeople demonstrate. As we grow up and have the courage to leave home, none of us have to submit to coerced speech or belief any longer, lie our dad is our mum or vice versa, or pretend we believe their fantasies or sexual fetishes.
‘A transwoman does not get legally to call himself a child’s mother. Children do not exist to validate your delusion. ‘(Malcolm Clark)
Lobby groups LIE
I have lost count of the transpeople, trans lobby groups (and even a few law practices) who have said that the demands of transpeople to deny reality should not only be for themselves, but enforced on entire communities, including their kids. Some of them go as far as to lie that we as CoTs don’t want accurate birth certificates, just falsified nonsense reflecting our parent’s ideological beliefs or fashion/ lifestyle choices. This is a lie. Here’s an example (this one is from Germany due to the recent Court case but UK organisations are as bad if not worse)
So, just for the record THESE GROUPS DO NOT SPEAK FOR CHILDREN OF TRANSPEOPLE.
When we are little, and totally in our parent’s control, CoTs can’t speak up. Sometimes we are too scared, sometimes we just don’t understand especially as schools don’t explain biology. But as soon as we can understand we realise how great the lies have been. Some children don’t care, but there is a reason why some transpeople have reduced contact with their adult children and it’s not because we are all ‘transphobic’. So I thank the Children of Transitioner’s founder for telling the government during the GRA consultation in 2020 how very important the Freddie McConnell judgement protecting our right to accurate birth documentation is. Here it is if you missed it:
Incidentally the other conflicts of rights issues Cots raised in their GRA submission are now also finally under government discussion – from NHS language reflecting gender ideology beliefs
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/05/steve-barclay-nice-women-properly-represented-gender/
to single sex spaces, for privacy, dignity and safety away from males like our dads:
Children of transpeople have human rights too, the same as everyone else. Sometimes there is a conflict and it has to be balanced. CoTs have the legal right, confirmed in the UK Supreme Court and now the European Court of Human Rights, to have accurate birth certificates, like other children across Europe, that reflect reality. We have a mother who gave birth to us and a father who provided the sperm like everyone else. And to all of you ghoulish trans lobbyists and legal firms lying to the world that Cots share your ideological beliefs that deny reality, and that we don’t want accurate records about our birth, I call you out on your dishonesty, forced teaming, bullying, and coercion. Stop trying to remove our rights.
Children of Transitioners 