AT LAST some common sense in this transgender debate.
A report by eminent paediatrician, Dr Hilary Cass, has cast light on a worrying trend that is causing havoc in homes and schools.
She has dared to state the obvious that children who believe they are transgender may actually have mental health issues, which should be addressed before they are treated with drugs.
The report advises therapists that many disproportionately suffer from complex issues, including difficult home situations, early abuse, and neurodiversity.
Dr Cass and her team have followed this subject for some time; her interim review in 2022 severely criticised the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Services (GIDs) clinic.
Shocking concerns raised by numerous staff whistleblowers and a television documentary led to the clinic’s closure after 35 years last month.
GIDs had referred children as young as nine for puberty blocking drugs, despite inadequate evidence for safety or clinical effectiveness.
They were finally banned permanently by the NHS on March 12, though they remain available from private clinics.
Yet removing vulnerable children from the medical pathway is not enough.
Dr Cass says that ‘social transitioning’, where a child changes their gender without medical intervention, is “not a neutral act” and has formative effects upon a child’s future development.
Worryingly, current government guidance banning social transitioning in primary schools is widely ignored, as shown by a rash of horror stories about teachers allowing changes without parental consent.
Fear of being accused of ‘transphobia’ must play a part; so, surely, must social media and ‘contagion’.
Certainly, this issue is real.
In 2010, just 75 children were referred to GIDs, while in 2021-22 there were more than 5,000.
Dr Cass is right when she says that a child’s psychological problems must be tackled before taking irrevocable medical decisions.