Two events cancelled in four days: psychiatrist who wrote about trans social contagion shut down by activists
By Rose Kelleher
Caroline Eliacheff, a child psychiatrist who has expressed concern about the abrupt rise in gender dysphoria cases among young people in France, has been prevented by trans activists from speaking at a philosophy event. The roundtable meeting, held in the French city of Lille on 17 November, had to be called off after protestors made it impossible for her to speak. It came three days after it was announced by Paris city council that they had cancelled another event where she was due to appear, under pressure from LGBTQ groups.
Caroline Eliacheff, a child psychiatrist who has expressed concern about the abrupt rise in gender dysphoria cases among young people in France, has been prevented by trans activists from speaking at a philosophy event. The roundtable meeting, held in the French city of Lille on 17 November, had to be called off after protestors made it impossible for her to speak. It came three days after it was announced by Paris city council that they had cancelled another event where she was due to appear, under pressure from LGBTQ groups.
Dr Eliacheff came under fire from activists after she co-authored (with fellow psychiatrist Céline Masson) an essay in January 2022 warning that social contagion was responsible for the increase in transidentity claims among French youth.
A Lille-based trans rights group called J’en Suis J’y Reste (I’m here and I’m staying) called for supporters to protest her appearance at the Lille event, which was organised by a secular philosophy group called CitePhilo. About 200 people swarmed outside the room stomping their feet and banging tambourines, while others stationed inside shouted “transphobe” and “facho” (fascist). Dr Eliacheff gave up trying to speak after one hour, Marianne reports.
A local political group EELV (green party) had unsuccessfully pleaded with the mayor of the city, Martine Aubry, to cancel the event. However, they managed to convince Paris administrators to cancel an event on parenting challenges due to take place on 20 November, organised by a women’s group called WIZO. A statement put out by the local authorities read: “The city council is committed to fighting all forms of discrimination and transphobia,” and described the speakers as “researchers with controversial positions.”
Both Dr Eliacheff and Dr Masson are representatives of an organisation called L’Observatoire La Petite Sirène, a collective of professionals critical of the role of transactivism in the treatment of gender distress. Dr Sophie Dechêne is a Belgian representative of the collective. She told Genspect that their position reflects that of France’s national academy of medicine, who put out a statement in February calling the increase in gender distress among young people a social phenomenon, and encouraging the medical community to exercise caution in treatment decisions.
The Comité Laïcité République, a group that promotes secularism in France, denounced the actions of the activists and the Paris authorities. “In the name of beliefs, scientific discourse can thus be cancelled. The work carried out by Caroline Eliacheff and Céline Masson within the framework of (L’Observatoire La Petite Sirène) is part of an approach to protect children from manipulation by social networks. It is intolerable that anyone, in the name of a supposed defence of minorities, should obstruct this.”
“The Laïcité République Committee gives its full support to La Petite Sirène and will use all the means at its disposal to enable it to express itself and disseminate its work.”