Humza Yousaf and the Gender Identity Scandal

🧵 Excellent Times editorial on #Cass. “The trans lobby has distorted public life in Britain, from the hounding of women who affirm the immutability of biological sex to the torturous pronoun etiquette of Whitehall. 1/2https://t.co/8OLhzcDVOZ

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) April 10, 2024

Who could disagree with this powerful editorial in the Times - the wackadoodle Greens for sure, but what about the SNP?

"In her review of the NHS Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock clinic, Dr Hilary Cass lays bare a scandal" 

I wonder if Humza Yousaf agrees this is a terrible scandal - given his previous unswerving support for self-ID and for men magically declaring themselves to be women? 

The Times view on the NHS gender identity scandal: Prescription for Disaster

A review of the NHS gender identity service has exposed the recklessness of those who administered life-changing drugs to troubled children

In her review of the NHS Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock clinic, Dr Hilary Cass lays bare a scandal - Photo TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD

Common sense so often trumps the supposed insight of experts. It is common sense that children who feel an overwhelming compulsion to physically change their gender must be exceedingly rare, and it is common sense that youngsters must not be allowed to diagnose themselves as such because they are likely to be prey to conditions and pressures that could cloud their judgment.

And, of course, it is common sense that radical and irreversible medical treatments should never be undertaken unless the case for them is beyond question. The problem in regard to transgenderism is that ideology has long since replaced common sense as a guide. That ideology, which has invaded public life, is so aggressive and so intimidating that parents, doctors, politicians and civil servants have become blind to its dangers and absurdities.

This is how, over a decade, vulnerable children in this country were betrayed on an epic scale, fed puberty-blocking drugs that in many cases were followed by radical procedures. This institutionalised abuse was based on the flimsiest scientific evidence and became established practice in the health service. In her review of the NHS Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) at the Tavistock Clinic, now released in full, Dr Hilary Cass lays bare a scandal measured in ruined lives.

The review is a damning indictment of clinicians and others, including some parents, who allowed a developing obsession with gender to obscure the actual problems of many of the children involved. Problems like autism and adverse experiences in childhood — more common in those referred to Gids — were ignored in favour of the newly-fashionable diagnosis of gender dysphoria. No one involved appeared to notice that this ­affliction, which if genuine should have been reasonably constant in the rate of presentation, ballooned over time.

• One day, we’ll look back on era of puberty blockers with horror

Gids was established in 1989 and at that time saw fewer than ten children in a year. Only a small proportion were referred for hormone treatment. It saw fewer than 50 in 2009 and in 2021-22 referrals reached 5,000. How did a rare condition become more common? Boys, once the majority of patients, were replaced by girls. Why? And why was autism so much more prevalent in that cohort? No one joined the dots.

It should have been obvious that this explosion in cases was due to societal shift and misdiagnosis of various forms of mental distress rather than a discrete condition. But the NHS continued to rely on sloppy research to justify life-changing treatment. Treatment, moreover, that should have been allowed only when those children attained majority. Instead, youngsters were prescribed puberty blockers, which were intended to slow down sexual development and give patients a breathing space in which to consider their true wishes and options. But these powerful drugs may impede brain maturation, weaken bones, stunt growth, and cause depression and anxiety. In some patients these effects may turn out to be permanent. Yet despite being no longer prescribed by the NHS, puberty blockers are still available online and in private clinics. This trade must be banned as a matter of urgency.

The recklessness with which this policy was pursued verges on the criminal. Some victims are now trying to reverse the damage. In a survey of 237 “detransitioners”, 70 per cent said their “gender dysphoria” turned out to be due to other issues. Writing in this newspaper, Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, argues that for too long “extreme gender ideology” trumped the interests of children. The trans lobby has distorted public life in Britain, from the hounding of women who affirm the immutability of biological sex to the torturous pronoun etiquette of Whitehall. These excesses may be greeted with mere bemusement by future generations. For those who suffered at the hands of Gids, the emotions will be much stronger.