Pro-transgender protest at Belfast City Hall against Stormont's temporary ban on puberty blockers in Northern Ireland

Campaigners held banners which read “Trans Liberation Now” and “Gender Affirming Care Saves Lives” during the demonstration at Belfast City Hall on Tuesday evening.

It comes after a ban was introduced in England earlier this year preventing the prescription of the medication, which suppresses the natural production of sex hormones to delay puberty, from European or private prescribers and restricting NHS provision to within clinical trials.

A legal challenge brought by campaigners who said they were concerned for the safety and welfare of young trans people in the UK failed last month when the High Court ruled the ban was lawful.

The Stormont Executive agreed to extend the ban to Northern Ireland last week, which came into effect on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, NHS England is expected start a trial into the use of puberty blockers early next year.

In a statement, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said a temporary suspension of puberty blockers was “based on clear and unequivocal advice from the Chief Medical Officer pending review”.

“We want the best possible medical support for children and young people who need trans healthcare,” she said.

“The three-month temporary suspension of puberty blockers for children and young people is based on clear and unequivocal advice from the Chief Medical Officer pending review.

“Children, parents and clinicians need to have full confidence in the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments. Health care and clinical decisions need to be based on the scientific and medical evidence.”

Belfast Lord Mayor Micky Murray was among those who addressed the gathering in Belfast on Tuesday evening.

Alexa Moore of the Rainbow Project urged Stormont to reverse the decision.

“This protest shows the level of community upset at the decision which has been taken without much consultation with trans communities,” she said.

“This is a ban specifically on the use of puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria. These medications are used to treat a vast variety of other condition as well, including endometriosis. They’re not being banned in those cases, they’re just being banned specifically for use by trans young people.”

She added: “The only way that people could access gender affirming care right now in Northern Ireland was by going privately to access that care, and we know countless families and young people who have gone privately because they’ve been abandoned by health care services in Northern Ireland and even that route is now being shut down.”

She called for Stormont to reverse the decision and commission and reform gender affirming health care services.

“Trans people in Northern Ireland have been languishing on waiting lists for far too long, and we need to see urgent action taken to address what is, in fact, a crisis.”

Earlier in Dublin, members of Rosa held a protest outside Sinn Fein headquarters, saying the party had backed extending the ban to Northern Ireland.

In a letter to party president Mary-Lou McDonald and vice-president and Ms O’Neill, they expressed their “deep disappointment”, adding the decision to extend the ban to Northern Ireland “is devastating and must be reversed”.

“Puberty blockers are a vital part of gender-affirming healthcare for trans, non-binary and cisgender people alike,” they wrote.

“It is not too late to reconsider and to truly stand with trans people.”