Norway’s medical watchdog has ruled that “not enough research” has been done on the safety of trans drugs and surgery for children, and that such treatments should be regarded as experimental.
Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board (NHIB/UKOM), a government body with a “mandate… to investigate serious adverse events and other serious concerns involving the Norwegian healthcare services,” published its findings on using drugs and surgery to “treat” transgender minors in an official report this month.
While “it has been possible to receive gender confirmation treatment since the late 1950s” in Norway, the Scandinavian country — with a population of only around 5.4 million — has seen a surge in the number of people seeking trans treatment in recent years.
An average of only four people a year were referred for trans treatments from 1975–1990, rising to some 50 to 70 per year by 2007–2010 to an astonishing 400 to 600 per year by 2018–2021.
“There is a lot of expertise in the area, but not enough research has been done,” UKOM reported.
“There is not enough knowledge, in Norway or abroad, about the safety and effect of gender confirmation treatment for the group of young people who are now increasingly seeking help from the health service,” they added, noting that “[i]n particular, we have little knowledge about the long-term effects and stability of gender incongruence and gender dysphoria. That is, whether and to what extent gender incongruence and gender dysphoria persist in the individual.”
