Draft:Jillian Spencer

• Comment: Many sources are unreliable. Read WP:RS. Safari Scribe^{Edits! Talk!} 08:56, 26 December 2024 (UTC)

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Dr Jillian Spencer

Dr Jillian Spencer is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Queensland, Australia. She completed an MB.BS and BmedSci at Monash University in Melbourne, and has specialised in psychiatry, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) in 2009. She completed RANZCP subspecialty certificates in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Forensic Behavioural Science (Monash University). Spencer has worked in Queensland public health services since her internship in 2002. She is not politically aligned or a person of faith.

Gender-related workplace complications

Dr Spencer repeatedly raised concerns about gender interventions for children in 2022 whilst working at the Queensland Children's Hospital. She had questioned the gender affirming model of care several years earlier, but was reassured at that time that the Queensland Children's Gender Service knew how to 'weed out confused lesbians' and accurately identify children persisting in gender distress.

In 2022, Spencer raised concerns about the number of transgender pride flags in the mental health area waiting room of the hospital. She was told that the flags were part of the hospital's diversity and inclusion strategy.

In 2022, Spencer read Abigail Shrier's book Irreversible Damage. She felt concerned whilst reading the book after watching the videos of YouTube transgender influencers discussed within the work, as well as by an uncomfortable sense of potentially being aesthetically influenced herself. She commented: 'what chance has a teenager got if I, as a middle aged woman, with a settled and happy life, start thinking it would be great to have the streamlined body of a teenage boy?'

Spencer bought fifty copies of Irreversible Damage and sent them individually to child and adolescent psychiatrist and paediatrician colleagues in South East Queensland, each with a hand-written note asking them whether they shared her concerns about harms to children from gender interventions, and if not, to please explain why, as she would be glad to not feel concerned. Spencer received very few replies from her colleagues.

In mid-2022, working in a Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Team, Spencer advised her line manager that she was unwilling to use the preferred pronouns of children. This led to a series of heated meetings with the clinical directors of the service; Spencer was subsequently advised that she must always use the preferred pronouns of children. At this time, alleging workplace political discrimination against her due to beliefs over the fallacy of gender transitioning, Spencer engaged with the Human Rights Law Alliance (HRLA) to prepare a Queensland Human Rights Commission Complaint. She has spoken with gratitude about the support she received from the HRLA at this time.

In October 2022, Spencer's hospital team was provided with an education session on the subject of chest binding by a nurse from the Queensland Children's Gender Service. The nurse said that the gender clinic was running education sessions on chest binding for all the school-based youth health nurses situated in public schools across Queensland. Spencer was aware at this time that chest binders damage breast architecture, increasing the likelihood of a child later pursuing a double mastectomy. During the session, the gender clinic nurse said that the gender clinic was also running chest binder fitting sessions within the hospital for adolescent females, later adding that, as chest binders were expensive, after undergoing 'top surgery' (a double mastectomy), adolescent females would often donate their binder to a local non-governmental organisation to be given to another adolescent female.

Dr Spencer felt distressed by the content of the education session, and felt compelled to take further action to protect children from the hospital actively encouraging patients to develop and maintain a transgender identity. Following this, she spoke with the managers in charge of the hospital mental health waiting room area regarding the ubiquity of transgender pride flags displayed there. She was told that the flags had been put up as part of a previous 'pride' celebration. She was told that the transgender pride flags, rainbow lanyards and pronoun and ally badges that were prominent throughout the hospital were not hospital property, but were being supplied by a charity called 'Minus 18'. Spencer subsequently removed the large transgender pride flags and other transgender pride posters from the waiting area.

Following this, the Queensland Children's Hospital executive issued Dr Spencer with a lawful direction saying that she must: always use the preferred pronouns of children, always take an affirming approach to children with gender dysphoria, always refer gender questioning children to the gender clinic and never remove transgender pride material from the walls of the hospital.

In March 2023, Dr Spencer participated as a private citizen in the Brisbane and Canberra Let Women Speak rallies. She spoke at each rally about her concerns about gender interventions for children. The Canberra 'Let Women Speak' rally followed the ill-fated Melbourne 'Let Women Speak' rally where women attending were falsely accused of being affiliated with Nazis. In Dr Spencer's Canberra speech, she tried to comfort women who were feeling "gutted by recent events in Melbourne" with the message: "Nobody ever said this was going to be easy...Many of us have been built strong enough to withstand this".

In mid-April 2023, Dr Spencer was the subject of a patient complaint from a troubled adolescent engaged with the gender clinic. Following the complaint, Dr Spencer was immediately formally removed from clinical duties on the grounds of being a danger to trans and gender diverse patients. She did not receive details of the alleged complaint until June 2023. The first show cause notice alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct due to the patient complaint and also the content of her Let Women Speak speeches.

In June 2023, Dr Spencer released a video on YouTube discussing her concerns about the gender affirming model of care for children.

Dr Spencer's removal from clinical duties came to light in the media in June 2023 in The Australian newspaper. She subsequently spoke at numerous public forums and in the media regarding her concerns about gender interventions for children.

In December 2023, the Queensland Children's Hospital sent a second show cause notice suspending Dr Spencer and alleging over twenty breaches of the Code of Conduct for speaking out in public.

In July 2024, the Queensland Children's Hospital sent a third show cause notice alleging numerous further breaches of the Code of Conduct for continuing to speak out in the media.

In November 2024, it was noted that Dr Spencer remained suspended but had not been fired by the Queensland Children's Hospital because the hospital had not managed to substantiate any wrongdoing against her.

Legal matters

Dr Spencer has made three whistleblower disclosures that are each awaiting a determination through the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission according to the Queensland Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010:

1. In 2022, she made a disclosure alleging that gender affirming interventions provided to children by the Queensland Children's Gender Service are a danger to public health and the health of a person with a disability.

2. In 2023, she made a disclosure alleging that a psychiatrist identified as providing factually incorrect information in five different public forums purporting to show scientific evidence of benefit to children with gender distress from puberty blockers and cross sex hormones is a danger to public health and the health of a person with a disability.

3. In 2024, she made a disclosure alleging that a psychiatrist identified to be providing double mastectomy approval letters to 25 adolescent females per year is a danger to public health and the health of a person with a disability because the psychiatrist is alleged to be supplying factually incorrect information about the outcomes and regret rates for adolescent females undergoing double mastectomy.

Dr Spencer has a matter before the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission that is expected to result in a two-week court hearing in early to mid 2025. She is alleging that the Queensland Children's Hospital has engaged in political discrimination against her by mandating her to use the preferred pronouns of children and to follow a gender affirming model of care. She is alleging that this constitutes indirect political discrimination against her due to her political belief that people can not change sex. This court hearing will involve the cross examination of clinicians from the Queensland Children's Gender Service, as well as the cross-examination of expert witnesses from each side of the debate regarding gender interventions for children. If successful, the case may result in a Forstater decision for Australia.

Relevant publications

Dr Spencer has co-authored or authored the following journal articles related to the gender affirming model of care:

Clayton A, Amos AJ, Spencer J, Clarke P. Implications of the Cass Review for health policy governing gender medicine for Australian minors. Australasian Psychiatry. 2024;0(0).

Spencer J, Amos AJ, Clarke PHJ. Recommendations of the Queensland children’s gender service external evaluation and their implications for health policy in Australia. Australasian Psychiatry. 2024;0(0).