There’s an important new report by TGEU in which it asked for official data around gender recognition self-determination – aka Self-ID – in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland. The focus was very much on finding evidence of gender self-determination not working, with requests including:

• Have there been cases of “regret”? have people made repeat applications?
• Have people used the law for fraud or with a criminal intent?
• Are there negative effects from the law? Are single sex services for women affected?
• Are there positive effects from the self-determination law?

As you’re probably aware, these are the so-called “reasonable concerns” of anti-trans groups. And what did the data show?

Our research finds that none of [the] previously expressed fears materialised.

Which makes sense, because the fears were never based on reality; they’re based on an invented bogeyman, the cisgender man who will fake transition in order to assault women.

The report found that:

• Applications are not made for fraudulent reasons or to conceal abuse.

• Applications are made after careful consideration.

• In very few cases people filed a second application to return to a name or gender marker held before. Transphobic family and social environment are key factors.

• Gender self-determination does not undermine gender equality quota measures for women’s equality.

• The provision of single sex services, such as shelters, women support centres, changing facilities, hospitals, prison facilities, as well as equality data collection, are not affected.

• Positive effects of the law clearly prevail.

I don’t expect this to get any coverage; in the eyes of the UK press, there is something uniquely dangerous about British trans women (trans men, as ever, are not given any thought). Despite the fact that almost identical systems have been in place worldwide for years – nearly a decade in some cases – without any detrimental effect on women’s rights or safety, the anti-trans grift will grind on for as long as there are newspaper readers to terrify and bigots’ books to publicise.