What’s Current: UK High Court rules children under 16 ‘unlikely to be able to give informed consent’ to puberty blockers

  • Children under 16 suffering from gender dysphoria are unlikely to be able to give informed consent regarding the long-term effects of “puberty blockers,” drugs given to halt a teenager’s natural development. The landmark ruling by the High Court was made in response to a case put forward by Keira Bell, who was given hormone blockers as a teenager and has since desisted transition.
  • European human rights ambassadors criticized Saudi Arabia’s imprisonment and continued detention of at least five women’s rights activists, including Loujain al-Halthoul, whose case will be tried in a special court for terrorism.
  • Suicide rates among young women in Japan and South Korea have surged in recent months, raising concerns about how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting women’s mental health and adding to their economic burdens.
  • UK feminist groups are criticizing the lack of public attention for the International Day to End Violence Against Women, claiming the day and the issues it is designed to address were overshadowed by transgender activism.
  • Messaging platform Discord will cooperate with Irish police investigations into revenge porn shared in private groups. The investigation is part of a push to criminalize the creation and proliferation of revenge porn in Ireland.
Genevieve Gluck

Genevieve Gluck is a writer and advocate for women's sex-based rights and creator of Women's Voices, an audio library dedicated to bringing awareness to feminist texts and speeches.