Family alleges Tampere University Hospital trans clinic humiliated 15-year-old
A young person and their mother told YLE that clinicians at Tampere University Hospital’s adolescent gender clinic tried to dissuade them from gender-affirming care and that a senior doctor said a penis would 'never work'.
YLE reports it met the young person and their mother and reviewed the patient records. The young person says clinicians tried to dissuade them from pursuing gender-affirming treatment and that a senior doctor told the family a penis would 'never work'.
They describe intrusive questions about sexuality and masturbation during the assessment. University of Tampere social work professor Joa Hiitola’s research finds some trans youth experience evaluations as invasive or privacy violating.
Chief physician Riittakerttu Kaltiala, who oversees adolescent gender identity assessments at the hospital, declined to discuss individual cases. She said evaluations can feel difficult, and that questions about sexual development are clinically important when considering treatments that may affect future sexual function.
The case has come amid wider controversy. Activists have protested the clinic, professional bodies have sought to calm tensions, and some of Kaltiala’s research has drawn international criticism. The young person later obtained hormone treatment through an EU teleclinic and reports improved wellbeing after about a year on a testosterone gel.
Earlier reporting documented a rise in harassment and threats against Pirkanmaa wellbeing services staff, which provides context for the heightened tensions around the clinic.
Earlier coverage
Catch the full story over at YLE
