First Do No Harm Southern Africa (FDNHSA) is a voluntary association of professionals committed to safeguarding evidence-based medical practice.
Our focus is the care of children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults experiencing gender-related distress.
FDNHSA provides accurate information to both professionals and the public, and we support parents and clinicians who challenge non-evidence-based interventions. The ‘gender-affirming’ (sex-denialist or sex-rejecting) model lacks robust scientific foundation, rationale, and evidence of efficacy.
Founded by medical doctors and guided by medical ethics, FDNHSA also welcomes the contribution of other professionals who share our commitment to ethical, science-based care.
KEY POINTS
- Children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults experiencing gender-related distress should not be labelled as ‘transgender.’ This labelling pathologises their distress and risks unnecessary medicalisation.
- Many people who experience a period of gender-related distress mature into healthy gay, lesbian, or bisexual adults, reconciled to their sex and body, if they are not subjected to social transition, chemical, or surgical interventions.
- Same-sex attraction should not be pathologised, and does not require medicalisation. Homosexuality should not be conflated with ‘transgender’.
OBJECTIVES
- To inform clinicians, policymakers, academics, and the public about the current evidence regarding the care of children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults experiencing gender-related distress.
- To support clinicians and professionals who question the ‘gender-affirming’ (sex-denialist or sex-rejecting) model, and who instead practice evidence-based approaches to care.
- To share evidence-based resources, including analysis of international developments and trends, relevant to the care of children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults with gender-related distress.