Pink News is normally a very reliable publication. It concentrates upon its own mission and perspective but that is understandable.
But there's something wrong here.
I need to explain with some background. This might be rambling but please bear with me.
In 1972, I was institutionalised in a young person's ward in Edinburgh. I was one of a succession of young males, each with, essentially the same problem, dealing with an environment that was distinctly hostile toward homosexuality, effiminacy and certainly transgender. (In Scotland, homosexuality remained a crime until the early 80s).
There were also a number of young girls there, about mid teens. Usually about 10 of them or so. These girls had, for the most part, been sent there by the children's court after they were referred for such offenses as having sex, spending too much time with the wrong sort of boys, drinking alcohol and so on. Some had committed other offenses, but my understanding is that these were seen as being under the influence of bad boys. (Presumably, like very young children, girls can't think for themselves).
The purpose of all psychiatry, boils down to normalisation. Using whatever method, to assist the patient, to normalise to society. There is no science as such. Newspapers and similar that claim this country or that, is misusing psychiatry on dissidents, are basically sensationalising. The problems come from the judgement of what is socially normal. At that time, homosexuality, and certainly transgender, wasn't socially normal in Scotland. However much we may disagree, that is how psychiatry operates. Always. It also explains why standards are so different in different parts of the world. In many parts of Africa, my wife's country, for example, psychotic people, are discharged, as quickly as possible. The belief being, that it is the community's responsibility to take care of sick people, medicine should only stabilise them.
In the 80s, I was a psychiatric nurse, for a time, in a large long stay mental hospital. There were a number of men there, regularly receiving medications, not because they had the conditions for which the medicine was prescribed, but because it was found to have a side effect of suppressing sexuality, or at the very least, sexual response. This is, of course, just for context.
So, the objective in the young person's ward, was to normalised these kids. The girls could live in a supervised environment with other girls. Learning from each other, how to be normal young women.
The boys would be given the opportunity, to establish themselves in an alpha male position, or failing that, beta, in relation to these girls. Soon, they would all discover, the wonders of convention and become normal.
The reason I've given this rambling background is to illustrate the extent of European psychiatry, in it's attitudes toward homosexuality, by the early 70s. In the case of Scotland, homosexuality was legalised in the early 80s. I haven't live there since the mid 80s, but I understand they now have active policies to promote the integration of not just homosexuals but transgender as well. That society has come along enormously.
Now I know that Germany has a much more advanced attitude toward non-hetrosexual sexuality and has since at least WW2. We can also accept that European psychiatry must have moved forward as well, otherwise the social progress, especially in a society like Scotland, wouldn't have happened.
So, I have to ask myself, is this a real threat against a child whose only symptom is sexual? Or is there more to it?
I can easily accept that a father may have weird ideas. I can accept that a lawyer might take on a case for someone with enough money. But it seems unlikely that the child would be incarcerated in a mental institution and forced to abandon, non-conforming ideas, that are accepted as normal in most of the world, including Germany, simply because the father doesn't like it.
