Transgender children could face ‘psychological’ consequences if they are allowed to change their gender, a landmark study has said.
The number of children identifying as transgender has increased significantly, with concerns growing that schools are allowing students to change gender without informing their parents, despite government guidance to the contrary.
The Cass inquiry into gender identity services for children has promised to look at the “important role of schools” and the difficulties they face in “gender interrogation” of students.
The review, led by Dame Hilary Cass, will be published on Wednesday and is expected to say children could experience ‘psychological’ consequences if they are allowed to change their name and pronoun.
The final review will say that prepubescent children should not be put on the same “path” as older adolescents who want to transition to the opposite sex.
The Cass Review, led by Dame Hilary Cass (pictured), will be published on Wednesday
The Department for Education (DfE) is likely to reflect the research findings in its guidance for teachers on how to deal with transgender children. The Telegraph reported. The final version of the guideline is expected to be published later in 2024.
Following the publication of the interim Cass review in 2022, the Tavistock transgender clinic’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) announced it would close after being deemed unsafe for children.
A number of five-year-olds were referred to the Tavistock clinic’s highly controversial GIDS between 2021-2022.
Some patients at the clinic were accepted for actual treatment, including puberty blockers and hormones that help change their bodies to better match their gender identity.
In 2020, former patient Keira Bell took the clinic to the Supreme Court, arguing that she had not been challenged enough before being prescribed the drugs at age 16.
NHS England said that as an alternative it would move young people who believed they were transgender to regional centers that would take a more ‘holistic’ approach and look into other mental health or medical issues the child might have.
Maya Forstater, the director of Sex Matters, said: ‘Doctors deal with gender-confused children who have been socially transitioning at school for years and are therefore very distressed by the idea of going through puberty. , which will develop their secondary sexual characteristics.’
Ms Foster, who spoke to Dame Hilary and her team, added: ‘If social transition in schools is halted it will take the pressure off clinics.’
A government source said: ‘We are absolutely clear about the importance of biological sex, especially in the context of protection, and the role parents should play in decisions about their children.’
The NHS last month announced an immediate ban on prescribing puberty blockers to under-18s unless they are part of a clinical trial. Ministers said the ‘landmark decision’ was in the ‘best interests’ of children.
It’s because primary school teachers are being told to change gender behind their backs, it is claimed.
Following the publication of the interim Cass review in 2022, the transgender clinic in Tavistock announced it would close after being deemed unsafe for children
A survey of equality and transgender policies in more than 600 schools in Devon and Cornwall found that a large majority (73 and 62 percent respectively) misrepresented equality laws.
It claimed a school trust advised teachers to help girls use chest binders on school trips, while also allowing students to sleep in bedrooms based on their ‘gender identity’.
The details, collected by Protect and Teach and reported in the Telegraph, related to state schools.
According to some school policies, children ‘as young as five’ could show signs of gender dysphoria.
They also said that biological sex is “assigned at birth depending on the child’s appearance.”
A high school reportedly stated that sex is “a person’s understanding and experience of their own gender identity.”