Mother of transgender teen accuses Queensland government of privacy breach that could have ‘outed’ her child | Queensland

The Queensland government disclosed private information about the mother of a transgender teenager – information the mother said potentially “revealed” her child – to a stranger.

The statement comes as the state government has been accused of “intimidation” and “invasion of privacy” after it demanded confidential medical information from parents of transgender children who are considering a fresh legal challenge to the controversial ban on puberty blockers.

Last month, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls issued a new order banning the prescribing of puberty blockers to transgender patients, just hours after the state supreme court ruled the government’s first attempt was unlawful.

Guardian Australia spoke to four mothers who approached Nicholls for a legal document called a statement of reasons, which is an official explanation of why the government has decided to ban puberty blockers in the state. Legally, the document must be provided under the state’s Judicial Review Act.

The Queensland health department asked all four for details of their children’s medical history; these include “your child’s name, date of birth, and other evidence that supports your child’s clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.”

Details were sought before the reasons were announced.

The email seen by the Guardian, sent last Friday, also asks them to “please also confirm whether your child is a patient at the Queensland Child Gender Clinic so we can verify the information provided by Children’s Health Queensland.”

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All four mothers described this request as a violation of privacy.

One parent said he was reluctant to disclose that information because the state government accidentally sent his information to a different parent.

“It feels like having to ‘out’ your child to actually get an answer; it’s like terrifying,” she said.

Louise*, who cannot be legally identified because it would mean identifying or “removing” her child, was one of several people who asked for their reasons on both occasions.

In May, the department emailed a response to another parent revealing her name, address and the fact that she had a transgender child to a stranger. He said a department official later apologized over the phone; The Guardian has seen an email from the ministry confirming the error.

He said he felt “sick and insecure” because of the mistake.

“My daughter is incredibly private. She’s extremely afraid of coming out in public. She doesn’t like anyone knowing she’s trans,” Louise said.

“I respect that as much as humanly possible. I never, ever disclose it only out of necessity to gain access to supports and only to people I consider to be perfectly safe and whom I know well.”

Louise was particularly concerned about the suggestion that this would be “confirmed” by the hospital.

He said the request was “frightening” and “threatening.”

Nicholls and the Department of Health were contacted for comment but did not receive a response.

Sally* said she wasn’t comfortable disclosing her seven-year-old non-binary child’s medical history.

“This is not my knowledge, it is the knowledge of a seven-year-old child,” he said.

“To think that this information could one day be accidentally disclosed in any way, you know, even if it was accidental, could be very, very distressing for him.”

He wrote back saying the department was seeking “an extraordinary amount of information.”

“I would not give this information to any other organization that would ask for it, especially in the context of the current political climate,” he said.

“This is an extremely private matter. You wouldn’t disclose your HIV status to the minister’s office, for example, you know. You would be very reluctant and very cautious about giving that information to a bunch of bureaucrats.”

It was stated that the LGBTI Legal Service, which represented the mother in her case, evaluated a second case last week.

Its chief executive, Ren Shike, said the decision affected nearly 500 Queensland children and families and that “it is important to effectively facilitate the provision of justification so that children and their parents can understand the rationale behind this decision which has had such a devastating impact on their access to healthcare”.

The government has repeatedly said the ban will remain in place until a review into gender-affirming care is completed.

Children, young adults, parents and teachers in Australia Child Helpline 1800 55 In 1800; support is also available at: Beyond Blue from 1300 22 4636 and Lifeline At 13 11 14. You can find other help resources at: International Child Helpline