The outdated trans study still doing damage

Today, Walkley Award-winning journalist and founding editor of ABC Queer, Mon Schafter, reveals how a forgotten experiment from another era is still influencing the culture war over trans healthcare.

Oct 13, 2025, updated Oct 13, 2025

In the 1970s, eight children in Perth were sent to a psychiatric hospital to be “treated” for being transgender.

Their experiences became the basis of a medical study that claimed kids could be cured of their identity.

Now, nearly 40 years after it was released, that same study is being cited in arguments against trans healthcare and being used to shape policy and law.

Today, Walkley Award-winning journalist and founding editor of ABC Queer, Mon Schafter, reveals how a forgotten experiment from another era is still influencing the culture war over trans healthcare.

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Guest: Walkley Award-winning journalist and founding editor of ABC Queer, Mon Schafter

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