LGBT Youth Scotland school trans training

ArabellaScott Totally agree. There was never a proper investigation or inquiry into LGBTYS after Jamie Rennie conviction. Why not? Because people were afraid of being called homophobic? Because govt happy to brush issues under carpet as opposed to squarely facing up to problems?
How was Scotland’s most notorious child sex abuser able to get into the position he did, what signs were missed, were their issues in governance of LGBTYS?

We don’t know as govt hasn’t bothered to find out but will throw money at the org and farm out policy formation to it.

I wish we could get rid of this govt come May, but it looks as though it will be corrupt business as usual.

[quote rogdmum]Grellbunt They go into lots of schools. The list of Councils that endorse their guidance is on page 58 here:

lgbtyouth.org.uk/media/1344/supporting-transgender-young-people.pdf[/quote]
Oh, for once my council is blameless! Whoop!

NeurotrashWarrior don’t worry I wasn’t upset with your post but the image is still difficult. Good of you for bringing it up. I am not in Scotland but I hope someone raises this with the organisation. For those of us unfortunate to have to deal with the immediate aftermath of someone taking their own lives that way, you can imagine the rawness of its suggestiveness. That’s why it is so much more than unkind to imply that if you don’t completely support your son/daughter then this is on you.
Also to those young people seeing it: if your mum and dad don’t support you - this is what you could do.
All in cartoon and bright colours format.
It’s hideous.

Sorry of course I mean the OSCR

Betsy - Complaint to the Charity Commission, acting outwith scope ?

I have already been in discussions with our LA (listed there) but I was given the impression that it had not yet been launched. But Gore Glen is in Midlothian and it is a state school - that’s a a major overreach there particularly given the doubt cast on the Guidelines. This whole thing is chilling.

I had a look at their committee - one of them is an adviser for the ScotGov.

Grellbunt They go into lots of schools. The list of Councils that endorse their guidance is on page 58 here:

lgbtyouth.org.uk/media/1344/supporting-transgender-young-people.pdf

I actually don't understand why this organisation wasn't disbanded after Rennie's conviction. He was the first chief exec and presumably shaped the organisation from the beginning. Even if you bring in new staff and try to redo the whole thing from the ground up, I just don't think a reputable org could recover from something like that.

Far better to scrap it entirely and start again, imo.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_Youth_Scotland

James Rennie was chief of LGBTYS and also a member of a paedophile ring, as reported here in the Guardian. (Content warning, abuse, csa, highly upsetting)

www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/may/07/scottish-paedophile-ring-guilty-child-abuse

I hope this doesn’t mean they are going into lots of schools. I am mulling over an FOI to find out if anything is planned for our Local Authority area.

I can’t get over the casual “fun” little drawing of the noose. People don’t “attempt” suicide in this way, they very effectively kill themselves. They are showing this to pupils ?

Absolutely appalling. And you make a very important point. The use of this image suggests completed suicides.

I don’t think they do u less the specifically ask.

FYI this is an independent school

If I was paying fees there I’d be livid

But I don’t know what their duties under the general law are

If it was my local authority I’d be straight in there citing their various statutory duties

To what extent do parents know about what is being taught?

It’s very childlike though isn’t it? Like a young teens scribblings on the back of their algebra jotter..

I can’t get over the casual “fun” little drawing of the noose. People don’t “attempt” suicide in this way, they very effectively kill themselves. They are showing this to pupils ?

Wasn’t the man who was head of this... um, didn’t he get into a bit of bother with the law?

Oh, and the woman who head the TransPulse project recently said:

“ “The increase may look steep, but we have to remember that these are still very small numbers in the context of the number of youth who know they’re trans and will need gender-affirming medical care,” said epidemiologist Greta Bauer, who holds the CIHR chair in sex and gender science at Western University.

She said research by the Trans Pulse project she headed suggests that about one in every 278 14-year-olds is trans and requires gender-affirming hormones — far more than even the elevated numbers seen now.“

nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-teen-transgender-treatment-boom-life-saving-services-or-dangerous-experimentation

Why is the work of someone who is clearly pushing the medicalisation of gender distressed/dysphoric youths being used by LGBTYS?

I’m so sorry Zanda . The use of the noose is utterly appalling.

Re persistence and insistence, the accompanying slide actually says: “Trans identities can begin in early childhood: ‘persistent and insistent’ “ This is pretty much a bastardisation of the Dutch Protocol and studies showing that up to 80% of young children who exhibit gender distress will desist by puberty. It can’t be applied to the current cohort of adolescent girls who are experiencing gender distress for a multitude of reasons.

There’s no definition for persistent and insistent either- how long is “persistent”? A couple of weeks? A couple of months? A couple of years? All while being affirmed by the school, presumably given that the training tells teachers to affirm from the moment they are told. So is persistency influenced by the school?

The utterly irresponsible statistics come from 84 participants in the Trans Pulse project here: transpulseproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Impacts-of-Strong-Parental-Support-for-Trans-Youth-vFINAL.pdf

It uses chain-referral sampling where each participant was able to recruit up to three others so the numbers of clusters could be as small as 21 here. The participants ranged from 16-24 in age but that’s all we know about them. We don’t know sex breakdown, any mental health issues, family environment, how long they have identified as trans etc. A fair number appear to be homeless/in insecure housing, but we don’t know the factors leading up to this. We don’t know how “unsupportive” is defined.

The suicide attempt statistics go against the recent IPSO guidelines around the use of similar statistics by Mermaids and are especially shocking given that it appears pupils were present for the training session. It’s utterly irresponsible of LGBTYS to be using these stats.

There is a great deal of focus on “unsupportive parents”. This would appear to be parents who are more cautious and want to follow watchful waiting. One slide talks about schools creating a “safe space” where pupils have “unsupportive” parents. It all flies in the face of basic safeguarding and just creates parental alienation- what a message to give pupils. Your parents won’t affirm you, don’t worry, we will. We won’t tell them and we’ll make school a safe affirming space for you. How on earth does that help what are very vulnerable adolescents who need proper support not blind affirmation.

There are 16 Councils across Scotland that endorse the LGBTYS guidelines. I would say that parents ought to contact their school and ask whether they affirm pupils behind parents’ backs but this training session shows that teachers are clearly told to lie so could a school be believed if they say they don’t?

At least now what these organisations say behind closed doors is fully public.

That noose! I lost a friend to hanging years ago. They really don't give a shit.

I'm so sorry Zanda and SirVix. This, like so much of the narrative around trans children is utterly irresponsible. I don't understand why there isn't more widespread condemnation of the suicide narrative in the press, as well as from specialist organisations. The media guidelines for the reporting of suicide by the Samaritans are really clear about what not to include, this organisation, but also many others, including those that specialise in dealing with children and young adults, are getting it wrong on a number of counts. The trans movement really has overturned the much more careful approach which used to be generally accepted as sensible.