Gething urged to change trans treatment policy for young people

Martin Shipton

A gender critical campaign group has called on First Minister Vaughan Gething to scrap the Welsh Government’s current policy that supports medical interventions for young people who believe they were born in the wrong body.

Instead, says the Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Alliance (LGBA) Cymru, it should adopt the more cautious approach recommended by NHS England’s Cass Review.

The review, published last week following four years of research, concluded that the entirety of gender medicine for young people was “built on shaky foundations” and said too many had been given puberty blockers, which pause the physical changes of puberty such as breast development and facial hair growth.

Important implications

In a letter to Mr Gething dated April 15, the Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Alliance Cymru said: “This report … has direct and important implications for Wales.

“Despite the fact that hundreds of young Welsh people have been referred to the Tavistock Clinic in London over the past decade, the report appears to have gone unnoticed by the Welsh Government. Your silence is astonishing. It seems that you do not even know how many children were involved, and NHS Wales does not know the outcomes of their experimental treatment.

“We hope that the publication of this major report sees the end of this major scandal which has been promoted so enthusiastically by the Welsh Government.”

The letter goes on to pose six questions:

* Will your Government accept the recommendations of the Cass Review in full and ensure Wales NHS and Welsh Gender Services participate as equal partners with NHS England in the follow-up review of adult services?

* Will you now ensure proper regulation of private providers of puberty blockers, as is promised in England?

* Will you ensure relevant Ministers, especially Health, Education, Social Partnerships and the Counsel General now meet with concerned [gender critical] groups, notably ourselves and Merched Cymru, along with Labour Women’s Declaration and Lesbian Labour, to look at these issues?

* Will you recognise that any increase in provision should be as part of a broader increase in services for young people’s health, especially their mental health, through proper funding of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) across Wales – rather than simply increasing gender-related services which is likely to increase the funnelling of troubled youngsters into this model of care?

* Will you accept the [Welsh Government’s] LGBTQ+ Action Plan is fundamentally flawed? It is predicated on the now badly compromised model of “affirmation” and science-denial, so that relying on it to guide Welsh service provision is a bad mistake? Can relevant groups, especially LGB Alliance Cymru now be invited on to the Advisory Group, having been excluded and ghosted throughout the process to date?

* Do you realise the potential for lawsuits and damage to the reputation of the Welsh Government and the devolution settlement (see Scotland) from pursuing this agenda, including the self-ID smuggled into the Senedd Reform Bill? [a provision that would allow anyone to identify as a woman and stand for Senedd seats reserved for women]?

Review

The letter continues: “We have been pleased to see the Shadow Secretary for Health, Wes Streeting’s comments that he no longer believes the edict that ‘trans women are women’. We hope that in a proper review of these health services and of the LGBTQ+ Action Plan, you also come to accept the problems inherent in that mantra and take the opportunity to rethink your definitions.

“We, along with other grassroots campaigns concerned about these issues, have written to you and your predecessors several times over the last four years. We have asked repeatedly and politely for meetings, opportunities for briefings and to participate in consultation. We have been ignored and derided. The Cass Review shows us to have been correct.

“We emphatically reject the view that a girl who says she is a boy (or vice versa) must be affirmed in that belief. Dr Cass and her independent researchers found that most of those seeking ‘gender care’ are LGB teenagers, and in particular lesbians.

“The public perception is doubtless influenced by the fact that LGBTQ+ campaign groups, often endorsing ‘gender affirming care’ appear to have a disproportionate influence with your government.”

Unhappy

The Cass Review also concluded that most children who are unhappy with their sexed bodies later desist and a survey of detransitioners found that 23% gave homophobia or difficulty accepting themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual as a reason for transition and subsequent detransition.

The letter continues: “We know that once into the Gender Identity Development Service process a high proportion of youngsters are placed on hormones and that a very high percentage then proceed to cross-sex hormones and surgery. Many groups have tried to raise the alarm, agreeing with Cass that these treatments, especially puberty blockers, are poorly evidenced and experimental when given to children within the normal age range for puberty.

“While we do not know the figures for referrals to the Tavistock clinic, a 2022 FOI revealed 3959 referrals to the adult (17.5+) Welsh Gender Service from 2017 to 2022 of whom at least 281 had ‘top’ surgery … For those two years that’s a surgery rate of 27% at least (assuming only 50% of referrals to be female). ‘Top’ surgery is the euphemism enshrouding double mastectomies – the removal of healthy body parts.

“How is this to be considered ‘progressive’? Given the evidence exposed by Cass, some 89% of these young gender non-conforming girls would have grown up to lesbian or bisexual. These statistics reveal the needless mutilation of hundreds of young lesbian or bisexual women. How does that fit in with an LGBTQ+ Action Plan supposed to make Wales a “safe” place to be a lesbian or bisexual?

“We would like to see an immediate and comprehensive review of support to young people (up to the age of 25) when they present with this currently fashionable dysphoria, including the full consideration of co-morbidities and other issues. This requires a proper model and resources for CAMHS. At the same time, the new Relationships and Sex Education curriculum should be reviewed; teaching children that an ineffable ‘gendered soul’ can take priority over their physical sex is a programme rooted in profound and oppressive stereotypes.”

The letter concludes: “The Welsh Government has consistently ignored and barred many groups raising concerns, allowing Stonewall to tar us as transphobes and worse. We have been silenced and insulted while young members of our communities have found no safe place to assert their dignity and boundaries. This has failed our communities and undermines the Welsh Government’s claims to seek a rich, pluralist and welcoming civic society.

“A new First Minister and Cabinet offers you an opportunity to make a really positive change in Wales for the better by accepting Dr Cass’s recommendations, reviewing your current policies and opening up a genuine discussion with ourselves and other groups.”

Holistic

A Welsh Government spokesperson told Nation.Cymru: “The Cass Review aims to ensure children and young people who are questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria, and require support from the NHS, receive a high standard of care that meets their needs and is safe, holistic and effective.

“We are committed to improving the Gender Identity Development pathway and the support available for young people in Wales, in line with the commitments in our LGBTQ+ plan.

“We will consider the review’s findings and continue to be driven by the evidence to support the needs of young people who are questioning their gender.”

The LGBTQ+ campaign group Stonewall has been asked to comment.