The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) was established in 2009 and is Australia’s peak body for professionals involved in the health, rights and well-being of trans, including gender diverse and non-binary (TGDNB), people. The AusPATH membership comprises approximately 250 experienced professionals working across Australia.
The term “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)” is not a diagnosis or health condition recognised by any major professional association, nor is it listed as a subtype or classification in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Therefore, “ROGD” is an acronym describing a proposed phenomenon, with insufficient peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support its implementation and/or use within clinical, community, social and legal settings1.
AusPATH affirms the rigorous processes by which diagnoses are developed and applied. These academic and clinical processes operate within professional medical organisations, and are developed by expert working groups of scientists, clinicians, and stakeholders over long periods of time, with high levels of scientific scrutiny of the evidence-based literature. “ROGD” does not meet this standard, and therefore is not recognised by AusPATH.
Whilst many have a clear picture of their gender from a very early age, for others the journey towards understanding their gender is more prolonged. The timing of when an individual discloses their gender to others is a separate consideration and does not necessarily reflect the development of their experienced gender. Many do not disclose their identity, rather hiding it for fear of negative reactions from others, including family rejection, discrimination, stigmatisation and social exclusion. The term “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” is not, and has never been, a diagnosis or health condition but has been used in a single report describing parental perception of their adolescent’s gender identity without exploration of the gender identity and experiences of the adolescents themselves.
AusPATH encourages continued scientific exploration within a culture of academic freedom, not censorship. All TGDNB people are deserving of gender-affirmative, evidence-based care that is underpinned by contemporary, adequately endorsed and community engaged standards of care and clinical guidelines.
AusPATH recognises the harms caused by conversion, reparative and aversion treatments and opposes any such efforts to invalidate an individual’s experienced gender. AusPATH supports affirmative responses to young people whereby self-reported gender is respected, and young people are able to safely explore their gender and expression without judgment, pathologisation or predetermined outcome. AusPATH urges caution in the use of any term that has the potential to invalidate a person’s gender.
AusPATH Board of Directors
30 September 2019
- WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) position on “Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)” 4 September 2018