Tranzmission

THE PROBLEM WITH FINLAND

Listen on

Episode notes

This week Bette (she/they) and Ez (he/him) tackle Finland, a country where trans healthcare seems stranded in the previous century, and whose most famous anti-trans adolescent psychiatrist, Riitterkerttu Kaltiala, has collaborated with SEGM, the Florida Board of Medicine, and the Cass Review board. As Kaltiala hosts a webinar for a small Australian trans-skeptical psychiatrists’ group and the internet debates the merits or otherwise of her latest “largely useless” study, Bette shares the testimonies of Finnish trans young people forced to endure a system that is “comparable to torture”. Meanwhile a story has surfaced in the Finnish state-run media: staff at Kaltiala’s EVA Unit have been illegally restraining young residents. Now that they’re tying down cis kids with bedsheets, will the world finally listen?

🔗 If you'd like to listen back to the unedited episode - with the music - head to our On Demand website. And don't forget to follow our socials at Facebook and Instagram.

Timestamps and Links:

00:00 - Acknowledgement of Country
00:20 - Welcome to Tranzmission
01:00 - Content Warning
01:36 - Intro to Finland and Riitterkerttu Kaltiala
02:55 - The Vine Review: prioritising Finland
05:14 - Kaltiala’s RACGP webinar cancelled
05:59 - Experiences of young people in the UK: CYPGS and PATHWAYS
08:40 - Finland and the Netherlands: small countries, big influences
09:57 - Kaltiala timeline
11:17 - Kaltiala et al (2019): drops in depression, anxiety, suicidality
12:24 - Australian Christian Lobby interview: Which harms?
13:48 - Florida Board of Medicine and Cass Review
14:24 - Letter to Finnish Parliament
15:27 - Ruuska et al (2024): “drastic reduction in suicide risk”
18:52 - Ruuska et al (2026): “largely useless as a scientific investigation”
20:23 - Assigned Media: Finland is incredibly bad at treating transgender people
21:06 - Kehrääjä: Describe to Me How You Masturbate
28:41 - Assigned Media: Don’t Forget Your Homework
33:47 - Therapy First Clinical Guidelines (now offline)
34:44 - Nadrowski: A new flight from womanhood
36:16 - Saxby et al (2026): GAHT reduces mental-healthcare use
36:55 - Saxby sibling study: Gender-affirming surgeries reduce mental-healthcare use
37:23 - Bette asks is mental health the right metric?
42:01 - YLE: Staff restricted minors illegally in psychiatric care in Tampere
43:52 - Guardian: Most right-wing Finnish government in generations

Support Services

Get Involved

4ZZZ's community lives and creates on Turrbal, Yuggera, and Jagera land. Sovereignty was never ceded.

Produced and recorded by Ez at 4zzz in Fortitude Valley, Meanjin/Brisbane Australia on Turrabul and Jaggera Country and audio and copy written and edited by Bette and cover image designed by Tobi for podcast distribution for Creative Broadcasters Limited.