Boston Children's Hospital warned employees of growing threats after far-right activists began targeting the hospital on social media with false claims about treating young transgender people. We are alerting and cooperating with law enforcement.
This is the latest in a series of attempts to target hospitals for their work with transgender youth,librariesandschools. fueling the ongoing wave of anti-LGBTQ sentiment that has swept through and transgender-inclusive Los Angeles spas
Boston Children's Hospital's public relations office issued an email earlier this week with guidance on how to respond to harassment and intimidation. sent to employees, citing an increase in "threatening and offensive" calls and emails commenting on the hospital's treatment of transgender patients.The emails were sent to NBC News by current employees. Confirmed.
Boston Children's Hospital was first targeted by activists in recent weeks. Well-followed social media accounts such as LibsofTikTokoften promoted the``trimmer'' discourse. falsely associated LGBTQ teachers and parents with pedophiles and began making various false claims. According to one allegation, the hospital was offering sex-confirming hysterectomies to her children under the age of 18.
A conservative influencer with millions of followers has fueled the flames by pushing a similar false argument: podcaster and supplement seller David J Harris. and single issue activists, including Chris Elston, nicknamed "Billboard Chris" for making anti-transgender statements on sandwich boards, are among the right-wing social media stars. The person who spread the suspicion online.
Last week, thefact-checking organization debunked claims made by right-wing accounts, but many of the same accounts continued to report false claims this week. petition.
"Last week, following critical comments about our Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) program, Boston Children's Hospital received a large amount of hostile internet activity, phone calls, We have been the target of harassing emails and threats of violence against clinicians and staff," Boston Children's Hospital said in an emailed statement. “We are deeply concerned about these attacks on clinicians and staff, fueled by misinformation and a lack of understanding and respect for the transgender community.”
“Boston Children's , is proud to be home to the first transgender child and adolescent health program in the United States," the statement added.
A video on the Boston Children's Hospital YouTube account of multiple doctors discussing services offered to trans patients was used to suggest that the Gender Surgery Center performs genital surgery on children. Shared by account. Videos that have since been removed from the hospital's channel included a video titled "What it means to be transgender."
Boston Children's Hospital has the first transgender children and adolescents in the United States. There is a health program, Gender Multispecialty Services, which has treated more than 1,000 families, according to its website. Despite a separate gender surgery center located within Boston Children's Hospital, according to the center's website,"all genital surgeries are performed only on patients over the age of 18; ” says the site.
A Twitter representative said it was investigating the harassment campaign.
Boston Children's Hospital said in a statement that the online attention was "a false statement that Boston Children's Hospital performs genital surgery on minors in connection with transgender care." For hysterectomies and other genital surgeries performed as part of gender-affirming care, Boston Children's requires patients to be able to consent to themselves.18 years of age is the standard for medical decision-making. Used to reflect the age of majority.Boston Children's does not perform genital surgery on patients under the age of 18."
Nonetheless, demonizing Boston Children's Hospital The post was promoted by right-wing media personalities, including The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh, as well as conservative websites such as Post Millennial and The Daily Caller, and spread rapidly through the far-right media ecosystem.
The anti-trans activist also targeted individual doctors who appear in his YouTube videos at Boston Children's Hospital, leaving vulgar and harassing comments on social media accounts, and negative comments on online pages. It has been flooded with reviews. Some hospital staff have since made their social media profiles private.
This is not the first time far-right activists have targeted doctors, medical institutions, and even Boston Children's Hospital.
Lee Leveille, co-director of Health Liberation Now, a transgender advocacy group that explores the impact of policies on transgender health, said the hospital will open in May 2021. said she was also targeted to provide gender affirmation to In a similar wave of targeted harassment against medical facilities.
"The first organized network that kicked off the clinic protests has slowed down a bit and is more decentralized," Leveille said in an email. rice field. “The local pocket still works here and there, but is less connected to the central, organized push than the original pocket.
In June, Brooklyn real estate agent Chaya Raichik, behind the Twitter account LibsofTikTok, commented that the Children's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska hosted an information booth at a Pride event. Tweeted. Earlier this month, Laichk and right-wing activist Christopher Ruffo targeted a children's hospital in Pittsburgh for an informational video about puberty blockers. The tweet directed a wave of harassment at the hospital's larger account.
Under a tweet about a child with cancer from a Pittsburgh hospital, commenter replies included "pedophile" and "we will destroy you." rice field.
Children's hospitals were just one example of a series of online abuses aimed at facilities that promote pro-LGBT ideas and events.
"They are subjected to a constant torrent of abuse," says Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at his clinic at Harvard Law School and his LGBTQ+ advocate. and in many cases it's actually delivering results face-to-face."
Carravallo has been a victim of recent anti-LGBT arson attacks inBaltimore and Brooklyn,pride events and . Citing widespread threats to the organizers} of Drag Queen Story Hourandfar-right hate groups showing up at protests and being arrested for inciting violence.
"We have already spent months repeating this bolstered propaganda that LGBTQ people are trimmers, pedophiles and threats to children." she said. "It's very disturbing to see people justify attacking children's hospitals because of their transphobia and their hatred of trans people."
Leveille said, Another co-director of Health Liberation Now, Ky Schevers, said he feared the next wave of violence targeting doctors, patients and health facilities that provide gender-affirming care.
Boston Children's Hospital said it was working with law enforcement to ensure the safety of its staff.
"We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms possible and reject the false allegations underlying the attacks," the hospital said in a statement. “We are working with law enforcement to protect clinicians, staff, patients, families, and the broader community of Boston children, and hold criminals accountable. We will take all appropriate measures to protect our citizens."