The information we have on this so far amounts to this.
German parents, divorce over their 11 year old's insistence to be female. Mother claims father is only against because he has history of transgender in his own family. Father claims he is opposed because child is mentally ill, pressured by mother. Clinic prepared to offer 'reparative' therapy. Father petitions local child welfare who take his side. Mother goes to court.
I hope that is all. From what I can see, that is all we know so far.
1. I find it impossible to accept that any W European, or indeed any EU state, would subject a child to reparative therapy.
2. I find it almost impossible to believe that any W European or indeed any EU state would use a mental hospital for any sort of containment, if the child is simply at risk.
3. The claims come, seemingly from Pink News, Huffington Post and The Local, German News in English. The reference in The Local, German News in English to an article in Die Tageszeitung doesn't seem to exist. I have used the search terms: Transgender, Transsexuelle and Geschlechtsumwandlung. Now this isn't conclusive, because I may have entered these wrongly.
There is this:
http://www.taz.de/Film-ueber-einen-intersexuellen-Teenager/!19257/ It is a review of a film about someone called Alex who is XXY.
I'm sorry, but there are simply too many questions here. To many points that simply don't make sense in a European way. To be honest, if this were happening in the US, for example, I might believe it.
We need some sort of creadable verification. Die Tageszeitung in itself, might be enough, provided their report is comprehensive. But it too, is not exactly, of the higher end of reporting.
The whole image is too much like, some cold, German, looking over his round glasses and announcing, 'Ve haf the vays. U vill become a normal citizen and serve the fuhrer. Mein Got!
Not going to happen and if the truth be known, never did. (Though we're not suppose to say that yet).
I was one of the last generation young people in Europe to have reparative therapy imposed. In 1972. That amounted to putting me and perhaps one other, similar boy, in a house, supervised by a very disinterested member of staff. I had a room of my own. there were 10 girls, spread between 3 rooms. All I or any other boy there, had to do was chat them up.
Those days are gone now.
If this is indeed happening, I need more evidence that the, frankly, hysterical nonsense put out so far.
It matters, because simply putting our names to any and every cause that appears on the likes of
Change.org, diminishes our personal credibility.
