UN’s top expert on violence against women has warned males ‘continue to be males’ regardless of gender identity amid an explosive Australian trans breastfeeding case.
Males “continue to be males” no matter how they identify by gender, the UN’s top expert on violence against women has warned, as she entered the polarising debate on trans rights in Australia.
Special rapporteur Reem Alsalem told The Australian that the conflation of sex, gender and gender identity was having “profound negative consequences” on all people.
Speaking out on the explosive vilification case launched by Brisbane transwoman Jennifer Buckley, who has taken a former breastfeeding counsellor to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for challenging her decision to nurse her newborn son, Ms Alsalem said people born male “do not breastfeed by definition”.
The Australian detailed at the weekend how the 44-year-old ambulance officer known as Adrian before transitioning used a cocktail of prescribed hormones and drugs to mimic pregnancy and trigger lactation. Ms Buckley breastfed her baby son for about a week following his birth in 2019.
Ms Alsalem said: “Males continue to be males irrespective of how they may identify. They do not breastfeed by definition.
“The best interest of the newborn child that is meant to breastfeed should determine the decision, which should be made free from any ideological stands, including the desire that some male adults may have to use the breastfeeding issue to confirm their acquired identity as females.
“A policy that centres the best interest of the child will take into account that the infant has the right to the highest standards of health, whose source at that stage of his/her life is vastly improved by receiving natural breast milk.”
But Ms Buckley’s endocrinologist, Naomi Achong, said the breast milk induced in transwomen was identical to that of conventional mothers.
Dr Achong insisted there was no harm to the infant and “extended benefits” to the parents when feeding was shared between the birth mother and a transwoman partner, as was the case with Ms Buckley.
The Australian understands that at least 20 transwomen are known to have breastfed in Australia, and others have undergone drug therapy to lactate.
“I have induced lactation in a number of transfemales with exclusively positive outcomes to both parents and offspring and no negative outcomes reported,” Dr Achong said.
Acknowledging the lack of scientific research on the practice, she continued: “While there may only be limited published data, there is considerable anecdotal evidence supporting this practice.
“Similarly, while not a common practice in Australia, it is approved and supported in other countries.”
However, the chair of the Royal Australian College of GPs’ special interest group on transgender healthcare, Vivian Praeger, cautioned there was no evidence, either way, to demonstrate the benefit or harm of induced lactation in people born male.
As the UN’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Ms Alsalem has warned against the “shrinking space” in developed countries for women to voice concern about the encroachment of trans people on female-only spaces and intrinsically female roles such as breastfeeding.
She told The Australian that the debate over sex and gender could not be “simply characterised” as part of the culture wars on values and beliefs.
“The disregard for the centrality of sex in the experiences of women and girls, including experiences of discrimination and violence for being female, is a human rights issue,” she said in response to emailed questions.
“There is more awareness that the conflation of sex, gender and gender identity is having profound negative consequences on the rights of everyone in society, including women and girls, but not only.
“I notice there is more resistance to these deeply problematic laws and policies that have tried to subjugate the rights of women and girls and the protections they enjoy to the desires and wishes of men, which has been an expression of the patriarchy.
“This is welcome as it denotes the slow but much needed return of common sense, equality and fairness.”
Asked whether a transgender woman such as Ms Buckley could produce breastmilk, Ms Alsalem said: “Scientists and health specialists, including midwives, nurses and doctors have spoken to this issue.
“As I have recognised elsewhere, many such personnel in a number of countries, including women, have unfortunately faced unfair disciplinary action at work or termination of employment, even when their dissent is motivated by objective health concerns.”
Former Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor Jasmine Sussex, the subject of Ms Buckley’s vilification complaint, was expelled by the ABA after she took on the transwoman over her breastfeeding. Ms Sussex, 50, of Melbourne, will contest the case in QCAT when it is heard next year.
“I do not have a choice in this,” she said. “You know, mothers and babies are too important to be sacrificed to the selfish, performative, futile effort for a man to be a mother.”
Neither Ms Buckley nor her lawyers would be interviewed or respond to questions.
ABA executive officer Victoria Marshall-Cerins would not be drawn on the status of breast milk expressed by a transwoman.
The association “recommends that parents discuss their specific situation with their doctor, including any possible effects via breast milk and explore other alternative options available,” she said.
Asked whether a transgender person who was born male could breastfeed, she said: “Potentially, it will depend on the surgical techniques used and the effect on the nerves, nipples and ducts.”
The co-founder of the Australian Greens political party, Drew Hutton, who is taking their Queensland division to court for marching him for criticising its pro-trans stance, said the QCAT case would be carefully followed due to its implications.
“This issue is not about the needs of men who identify as women; it should be about babies and little children and what is best for them,” he said.
“The vital link between a breastfeeding mother and her baby should not be experimented on and should be respected.
“The male transgender movement is trying to colonise all women’s-only spaces and refuses to accept that this represents a threat to women’s rights and, in this breastfeeding issue, to the welfare of children.”
by Jamie Walker
Source: The Australian
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