BBC 2 Newsnight today investigated serious alleged Safeguarding failures at NHS Tavistock GIDS
During the program Dr Sarah Davidson was named (with others including service lead Dr Polly Carmichael) as responsible for referring some children to the medical pathway within an hour. The service protocol stipulates 3-6 sessions as being usual.
Failures to refer to the trust's Safeguarding Lead were also reported by former staff.
2016 interview with Dr Sarah Davidson & Susie Green (CEO Mermaids charity) raises very serious concerns about the extent to which Looked After Children may have been failed by both NHS & Social Services under undue influence from TRAs.
Children & Young People Now
COURT RULING UNCOVERS KNOWLEDGE GAP IN GENDER IDENTITY PRACTICE
Derren Hayes
December 6, 2016
(extract)
"Dr Sarah Davidson, consultant clinical psychologist at GIDS, says the rise in referrals to the service reflect the fact that "an increasing number of young people are not happy with their gender".
Of the case in the recent High Court ruling, Dr Davidson says it highlights the fine line between a parent supporting a child and influencing their decisions.
"The idea I have is that the mother was very supportive of [the boy] presenting a wish of identification, but over time that [identity] had changed and the mother hadn't kept up with that," she explains.
"Frequently a young person presents saying they don't want to be in this body, and both parents support that.
"Sometimes you see parents respond in a very polarised way, where one will feel very strongly about supporting the child's wishes and the other will disagree."
Dr Davidson says that local authority social workers will often encounter "gender variant or diverse youth" when they are working with looked-after children, and she says that it is important for professionals to keep an open mind on how to best manage the kind of issues that may arise.
Unlike the circumstances in the High Court case, the greater problem is that some social workers are not prepared to recognise gender dysphoria in children, particularly in under-10s, according to Susie Green, chief executive of Mermaids, a charity that raises awareness of gender identity issues.
"You get two different social workers: one is accepting and will be open minded, and others who think families must be making it happen," Green says.
"The younger the child, the more likely the family will get a social worker who doesn't recognise the issue."
Green says too often professionals make decisions based on personal opinions and instinct rather than knowledge. This creates the potential for practitioners to be influenced by often negative comments "seen in newspapers and on social media".
She explains that social workers often get involved in gender dysphoria cases where parents disagree over whether to support a child. If this leads to separation, one parent may report their concerns over the child's sexual identity to social services.
"If social services is informed that a child is being mistreated, they have to look at that, it can't be ignored," Green says.
"We have had parents who have been reported by their ex-partners and been investigated by social services. The threat of a social services investigation can be very scary. If a social worker is sceptical, the parent is placed in a difficult position over whether to support the child but [risk] being accused of abuse.
"A social worker's attitude can make or break a case."
Green is concerned that Justice Hayden's criticism of the social worker in the High Court ruling, and his recommendation for a review of how children's services manage gender identity cases, will lead to more professionals taking a sceptical stance in the future.
"The likelihood is that they will spend longer looking into somebody because of the judge's criticism," she says. "Professionals now may say ‘we need to look a bit closer', which means families will have greater scrutiny."
With most social workers not being trained in gender dysphoria, Green is concerned about the impact that closer scrutiny could have on children and young people struggling with their gender identity.
The answer, she says, is for those in practice and undergraduates on social work degree courses to be educated on the issue.
Mermaids runs training courses for groups of professionals aimed at raising awareness of gender identity. Cases are reviewed, agencies' responsibilities under the Equalities Act are outlined and practitioners discuss how to respond.
"What we try to do is get people to think what it must be like for families," says Green.
"Some people think it is a lifestyle choice, so we try to make them aware that children would not choose this. It's really difficult - that's why we have so many young people self-harming.
"Families often feel discriminated against by the very agencies that should be supporting them."(continues)
www.cypnow.co.uk/Analysis/article/court-ruling-uncovers-knowledge-gap-in-gender-identity-practice
from thread discussing Newsnight, Imnobody4 wrote,
twitter.com/Neverfallingfo1/status/1273745127811559427?s=19
"Sarah Davidson who was named was previously on the team of Gendered Intelligence and seems to be an advocate of Queer Theory."
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3943022-Newsnight-Tonight-Tavistock-Clinic-concerns?watched=1&msgid=97590510#prettyPhoto