Have you damaged the life of a child?

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The Cass Review into child’s gender services is out. For those of us who have been following this for years, it really is a No Shit Sherlock moment. All of our beliefs and fears for what is happening to vulnerable children (mainly autistic, traumatised or same-sex attracted girls) is set out in black and white.

https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/

So,

Every doctor, psychologist and therapist who ignored evidence and went along with this medical scandal and who set a child on the path of no return to future infertility, osteoporosis, increased heart disease and dementia risk, lower IQ and foreshortened life span;

Every school counsellor who felt they were Rosa Parks, whispering secrets to vulnerable kids and damaging the parent-child relationship;

Every teacher who adopted gender ideology and actively poured poison into their student’s ears;

Every teacher who shut down a student who wasn’t toeing the party line;

Every teacher who made girls feel ashamed for not being happy about sharing toilets with boys;

Every social worker who damaged the parent-child relationship and threatened parents with consequences for not affirming their child’s trans identity;

Every child’s friend’s “cool” parent who claimed their home was a sanctuary from the child’s bigoted parents;

Every autism organisation staff member or volunteer who swallowed the nonsense whole and damaged a generation of autistic girls;

Every person who cut off friends when they raised concerns about trans ideology and kids;

Every Facebook group moderator who blocked members raising the mildest questioning of gender ideology, then out up the sickening virtue signalling post about “no hate allowed”;

Every single person who chanted “protect trans kids” without knowing a single thing about the issues;

Every sports coach who allowed boys into the girl’s teams and berated objecting parents and girls as bigots;

Every separated parent going along with the child’s trans nonsense to get back at the other parent.;

Everyone who has ever donated to Mermaids;

Every single person who blindly believed that a parent’s doubts about transitioning their child were based on transphobia and bigotry, not love and concern;

Everyone who has ever told a child that society hates them because of their trans identity;

Every parent who didn’t do their due diligence and happily went along with their child and who enjoyed the attention of having a trans child;

Every politician (pretty much all of them) who decided to ride this one out, even though they could see the harm occurring in real time

This disaster, ruining the lives of a generation of children, is on you.

Some GC discussions on here are interesting and informative. Some posts, like this one, are provocative, hyperbolic and batshit. You get the rough with the smooth and get a rounder view of people if you read it all, rather than cherry picking only the warm fuzzy bits.

I have really appreciated everything the feminist boards on here have taught be over the last five years or so. It’s allowed me a very clear understanding of social contagion and I’ve carefully navigated all sorts of situations with my kids by kindly keeping to the truth.

They understand sex and biology alongside the need to be sensitive to those who are confused/struggling with these concepts. My older child is about to go to secondary where I know from other parents this is still running rife. I will have another conversation before he goes to again explain what’s been going on and why he will likely meet girls who say they are boys and boys who say they are boys and that the correct thing to do is to accept everyone’s differences and idiosyncrasies and give it no further mind.

To me it’s not that different to explaining historical conflicts influencing current day politics or why we get lightning during thunder storms. None of this is actually that complex if we stick to the facts and stay kind whilst doing so. Truth is always the guiding light through any crisis.

As intelligent and reasoned a post as I expected. Great, you agree the thread should be here and visible. Glad we cleared that up. Now let's get back on to the medical scandal.

One thing that this report does is it gives parents back up when challenging a schools that has overstepped. While it's only a minority of schools, some transition children in secret, some push gender identity and teach children it's possible to change sex, some run safeguarding breaching mixed age Pride / LGBT groups. They can now be challenged by parents pointing out that Cass says adults without clinical experience should NOT be involved in transitioning children.
All of this is outside schools expertise. Hopefully the draft school guidelines are being amended to include this point.

Been waiting for this to blow up for ages. Guess lawsuits and damages will be incoming which is the only time anyone seems to care. First do know harm getting binned for ideology and used to permanently medicalise and sterilise children. Will be in the courts for years and was so avoidable with basic science led treatment instead of stupidity.

No, she put it in AIBU instead of where some of you would prefer it (hidden away on the "nasty" board so you can continue to ignore it and blame the women who've been whistleblowing about this for YEARS now) to get it as out in the open as possible. I fully understand her anger. When it finally dawns on some of you what you've been party to and WHY you didn't know about this, you'll be angry too. Or at least anyone with a conscience will be.

It not being openly discussed and the claim that anyone talking about it was an "extremist" "hysterical" "paranoid" and all the other demonising insults is one of the reasons why so many people have "kindly" gone along with this dangerous unevidenced crap for years. The media in particular have a lot to answer for here. Why didn't all these people know about it? (quite a few did, but I agree, many did not. But the information is not actually new. It's been available for years. Anyone talking about it - such as here on MN - was demonised.)

Have we read a different report? I'm not seeing anything in there as anti-trans as your post.
Damaged the life of a child?? Very dramatic, the report is about providing holistic assessments and support.

Everyone posts things in AIBU "for traffic". It's perfectly reasonable for the OP to also do so.

Have we read a different report? I'm not seeing anything in there as anti-trans as your post.

You might like to tell TRAs that. Many seem to be quite worked up about it all. It's good that you are able to reassure them, no?

Wait for it.....

It's not what TERFs said, it was the.way they said it.

OK, TERFs were right about their concerns about the medical profession's approach to children suffering gender dysphoria, predatory men being put in women's prisons, women being hounded out of their jobs for stating biological reality, women being gaslit about their own sexual assaults by transwomen etc etc but they're being paranoid and hysterical about the rest.

There's been toxicity on both sides so TERFs are as culpable for the current situation as TRAs threatening death and rape and legal action for stating facts and in at least one case physically assaulting a TERF who probably brought it on herself for not #being kind enough.

Keep adjusting the argument as more evidence is uncoverd as it suits 👌

Nothing "anti trans" about her post.

Of course the lives of many children have been damaged. Unless you think sending them down unevidenced medical pathways (in the report), ignoring other major issues as soon as "gender" was mentioned (in the report) and not giving them the holistic support for other problems (in the report) as well as failing to keep adequate data (in the report) and therefore not giving children reporting gender identity issues the same quality of care and evidence that other children can expect (in the report) hasn't damaged lives? Seriously?

Not to mention the unevidenced claims that children would kill themselves if not put on puberty blockers (in the report that there is no evidence of puberty blockers or transitioning preventing suicide.)

Please stop with the tone policing. It is a silencing tactic and and how we got to this sorry mess.

I should add to my previous response to @MarshMarig0ld7364, that were it not for initially engaging with the FWR board almost 10 years ago and accessing GC threads on the main MN boards back when it was allowed, I wouldn't have been anywhere near as well prepared for navigating the challenges of parenting my own ND DD now.

I wasn't motivated by any anti-trans sentiment -I originally I came to FWR because I'm a teacher and was concerned about safeguarding and gender ideology. In addition, a close relative ‐another young autistic young lesbian‐ had come out as trans and I was concerned about how this seemed to be exacerbating her already fragile MH.

GC FWR was and continues to be a source of much needed education, sharing and dialogue, much of it between professionals working in roles with a CYP safeguarding element, many of whom were savagely attacked and threatened in the early days. I am indebted to their courage.

To be honest, I now feel vindicated for holding the line with my kiddo and ensuring that PBs/Xsex hormones were never offered, via the NHS or privately. Kiddo has, at times, been beyond angry about this, self-harmed and refused to engage in therapy offered and payed for, but now - 6 yrs later, does occasionally toy with the idea of abandoning the trans stuff (not there yet but weary of it), seems to take on board the fact that MAYBE the medical route is not as safe as originally thought, and that surgery would be a very drastic step… deeply hopeful today that this report and it’s impacts will drip through and help the move forward towards a life/education/career with this stuff firmly planted in the rear-view mirror.

[NB. Written without pronouns intentionally just to demonstrate you can write about a person factually without needing to use them, preferred or sex-based, so journalists take note 🤣]

Why? Do you feel it is insufficiently relevant to the subject of parenting, which is the main focus of this website?

It was less than a year ago that singer Roisin Murphy made comments in her private facebook page with concerns about puberty blockers, and suffered a huge backlash and career consequences, all courtesy of "the right side of history".

People need to know that concerns about medicalising gender non conforming children are not just non-hateful, they are not merely acceptable, they are completely correct, and essential to protect children.

This is what should have been the standard approach.

I’m a univ lecturer and resigned from my own union about three years ago over their refusal to support GC members. I imagine the school teaching unions similarly don’t support staff who don’t enthusiastically follow the gospel of stonewall . I’d rejoice if I’m wrong, though.

I believe the recommendation is that only children who have experienced persistent gender dysphoria since early childhood should be eligible for clinical trials, but I could be wrong.

That would rule out close to 100% of teenage girls.

I hope this report is helpful for your family. I know it is very hard.

I for one am extremely grateful to mn for opening my eyes on a number of topics including this one. Having ND children, it’s been extra useful to learn more about the trans movement not to mention, in a tiny way balancing out all the sweeping under the carpet that’s been going on.

I know a handful of young people who are questioning, transitioning etc and all are ND. They’ve been lucky to have supportive parents but those parents have struggled to know what to do for the best and MH has been a huge and sometimes deadly concern.

I worry for young people and I think many adults do. Life is tough enough for this ‘generation’ of tweens, teens and young adults.

To have been a teacher during all of this must have been bloody difficult.

You’re absolutely right OP. Unfortunately none of the parties you mention will ever admit to the damage they have wrought. They are currently all too busy trying to discredit the Cass report. Evil.

Cass also comments that there should be a cautious/holding pattern approach for 18-25yo patients, too.

I could not believe how the minute the clock struck midnight on my DC’s 18th birthday, adult competency was assumed, MH issues suddenly seemed no impediment to making life changing medical decisions and my rights to speak up were withdrawn.

Am hoping this report adds a further column of evidence for the Richie Herron & another parent’s legal challenge about the care of under 25s, esp those with ND diagnoses or traits. 🤞

I also want to add, that as a brown woman, I am beyond furious to see many from my community demonising JKR and other GCs as "white feminists", and arguing that POC need to be kinder and more inclusive than others because we were kept out of spaces for so long. I have even heard it argued often that keeping men out of women's spaces is like keeping PoC out. No, it is not. I agree that many PoC have got other serious issues to worry about- widespread domestic abuse, the denial of education, forced marriages- but nevertheless this is not just a white feminism issue.

It completely disregards the activism of women like Keira Bell and Allison Bailey, as well as the fact that some ethnic minority women such as practising Muslims are particularly affected by the removal of single sex spaces.

Well said. Things that harm children shouldn’t be hidden away. This is a parenting site and this issue and report should therefore be seen and discussed on the busiest board here.