Mail article - children going into care to change sex

[truthisarevolutionaryact]

A very good article :

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6815349/Girl-15-taken-family-care-parents-didnt-want-changing-sex.html

Thread about a previous article in the Sun:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3530199-Article-in-the-sun-At-least-three-gender-transitioning-children-have-been-taken-into-care-because-of-their-parents-objections

Social workers at Hillingdon council in west London said they placed two children in foster homes following arguments, while Ealing council, also in west London, said it had done the same with 'fewer than five' children. It refused to say exactly how many

Are these the only councils or is this happening elsewhere?

Honestly, fuck this shit. I am raging that this is happening. You only have to look at other threads which details detransistion by girls at 19ish and realise that this is absurd.

I'm a liberal left woman who has fought all my life for LGB and T rights but I honestly feel at the moment that I can't support T at all anymore. I feel awful for people suffering gender dysphoria but surely there is a better way than this? I feel so powerless.

More evidence of how gender ideology is so extremely dangerous to children.

Ridiculous.

Are these children being taken into care or are they placing themselves in care? Is the care system telling children ‘come into care, leave your families and we will transition you’? That is more scary than them being taken into care - at least that way there should be checks and balances through the courts (though very worrying if they allow it given the lack of evidence of benefit versus the substantial harms). If these kids are being incentivised to leave their families with the bribe of unquestioning affirmation....

I see our favourite head of a fishy organisation has made the 'they know exactly what they're doing' comment again.

Loving the Ealing council 'fewer than 5' comment. So, FOUR then. That's actually a significant number of children to remove from their parents for such a reason in the scheme of things.

These children won't have been removed without a Court process in which the parents would have been represented.

I am really not sure this story is being told accurately.

These children won't have been removed without a Court process in which the parents would have been represented.

I agree this is probably correct. I would really like to see further (anonymised) details about this and what the legal basis would be.

Actually having read the DM article there is a bit of nuance:

Both councils denied the children were taken into care because they were transgender, or solely because their parents or carers did not support their decision.

Hillingdon Borough Council said: 'In the two cases referred to, the children were not taken into care specifically because they are transgender. No child is taken into care solely because they are transgender.

Whilst a child's sexual identity is assessed, it is complex family dynamics and/or contextual safeguarding issues which may negatively impact on a child that are usually the cause of social worker intervention.'

Ealing Borough Council said: 'We have never taken a child into care on the basis of a dispute with their parents regarding gender reassignment. While we need to protect the confidentiality of those concerned, we can confirm that care was provided to young people over 16 who are now adults, due to safety concerns which were not predominantly related to gender reassignment

Although in a different case:

The child, identified only as PD, was born female and told his adoptive parents he wanted to be treated as male aged 13. He formally changed his name but his parents continue to call him by his female name, a family court judge heard. In 2016, Mr Justice Keehan publicly ruled PD was entitled to cut his parents out: 'He struggles to understand their complete lack of support and understanding.'

At least the deputy head teacher seems sensible -- but his hands were tied. What a travesty.
I can't believe that it's the Daily Mail who is revealing these stories. That is, I CAN believe it but that the earnest papers don't is depressing.

Prominant transactivists have been involved in developing social care toolkits/ policies / resources just as they have NHS, education, MoJ etc

see previous thread: 'Vunerabilities of Looked After Children, Social Work & CP restricted by affirmation requirement? Trans Youth in Care Toolkit'
Jessica Eaton's comment:

'every week social workers approach me about traumatised kids after abuse and trauma suddenly identifying as trans and SW being told to just affirm it rather than working through the trauma'

Jessica's comments referenced by ThatDoctorEM along with her own work on thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3324391-Paedophile-expert-warns-of-transitioning-as-a-ploy

I have started a new thread in order to specifically focus on the possible serious consequences for vulnerable looked after children & statuatory corporate parenting responsibilities

See resources including video and leaflet for young people in care and toolkit 'Trans Youth in Care - a Toolkit for Caring Professionals'
www.lgbtyouthincare.com/trans-youth-in-care-resources/

www.lgbtyouthincare.com\www.lgbtyouthincare.com

These resources seem to have mostly been generated in Manchester supported by Tara Hewitt (TELI UCSM), Three cIrcles Fostering (Wilmslow), The Proud Trust (patrons incl prominant TRAs Stephen Whittle & Christine Burns)
www.theproudtrust.org/about-us/our-patrons/

With additional acknowledged support from Mermaids & GIRES.

The Toolkit (publ 2017) seems heavily based on Allsorts Toolkit but has additional content due to the focus being children in care.
aspects of Allsorts Toolkit have been questioned and there are then I believe additional questions to ask of some of the content of this publication

Chronology (from resource)
"In 2014 Jacob Sibley (director, Three Circles Fostering) and Andrew (the LGBT foundation) completed a consultation on the experiences of LGBT people in care. Their findings helped produce a resource
entitled 'Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Young People - Information for Foster Carers’. During May 2016 Three Circles Fostering met with some individuals who highlighted the need for more training and awareness specifically for care professionals in how to support and care for trans young people in care.
From this, Charlotte Andrew (NT&AS), Sage Aalto (Three Circles Fostering), Tara Hewitt (NHS Equalities lead) and Jacob Sibley
(Three Circles Fostering) completed a consultation with The Proud Trust Afternoon Tea group in September 2016 and with care leavers and individuals at the Sparkle event in Manchester July 2016.
A resource titled ‘trans youth in Foster Care- know your rights’ was produced which is hoped to be shared with all young people in care nationwide, this can be viewed at www.lgbtyouthincare.com.
F i n a l l y, a t o o l k i t t o i n f o r m c a r e professionals working with Trans young people, to ensure positive outcomes has been produced." (continues with links to resouces)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3324578-Vunerabilities-of-Looked-After-Children-Social-Work-CP-restricted-by-affirmation-requirement-Trans-Youth-in-Care-Toolkit

I have no doubt that the issues are nuanced and challenging. It is highly likely that these children are mentally fragile and have a number of competing issues. It's been an issue for decades that some teenagers want to go into care as they see it as getting away from parental restrictions. Sometimes the parents are harsh and oppressive - and sometimes the parents are trying to protect their children from chaotic / self harming behaviour.
I would hope that transitioning is never a reason to remove a child. Sadly having seen the bullying and vitriolic approach from trans organisations of any professional who advocates 'watchful waiting' I am not convinced that social workers are not subject to the same intimidation and grooming.

At 15, a young person has quite a lot of say in the situation

Candidates for Rachel McKinnons rainbow family

Childrens cases are notoriously hard to report and there are inevitably 'two side'. However the Mail has a very good record of challenging the secrecy, and some of the decisions of children's courts.

They led with a short factual story last week, then more this. There will be more, some of which cannot be reported. The Mail is getting its information from somewhere. This information may be right, or it may be one-sided. The parents may be unfit, they might equally be caught up in a dystopian nightmare. Either way decisions like this need sunlight and careful review.

The Mail is fulfilling the role a free press ought to fill.

Childrens cases are notoriously hard to report and there are inevitably 'two side'

Unfortunately many reportings of Social Care cases are not accurately reported and the complaxity and nuance in case decisions lost.

There are rarely just 'two sides' and language as in a headline,

"Girl, 15, who identifies as a boy is taken from her family and put into care after telling teachers her parents 'didn't want her changing sex'

can obscure what may be very different & complex dynamics in individual cases.

The neccessary confidentiality protecting children and vulnerable young people is different to 'secrecy'

A review as to the influence of TRA individuals and organisations such as Mermaids who have demonstrated that they do not understand Safeguarding is very much needed.

Children in care are the most vulnerable.

from the article,

A girl of 15 was taken into foster care after she told teachers her parents were refusing to support her decision to change gender.

The family was informed by the deputy head teacher at her school that he was 'powerless to intervene' in preventing them losing their 'much-loved' daughter.

He told them: 'I know she's not a boy but she's self-identified so my hands are tied.'

The 'Memorandum of Understanding' secured by transactivists may be significant.

so too resources created by Trans Rights' activists:

Trans Youth in Foster Care, 'Know Your Rights'
static1.squarespace.com/static/58dcbb6be3df28ace47ce187/t/591c498f440243dc05143365/1495026066813/Trans+youth+in+foster+care.pdf

Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=89&v=TFYMazeOvgg

'Three Circles Fostering' who produced the info above work closely with Tara Hewitt to promote their resouces. This included promoting the 'toolkit' for foster carers and social care workers at a fostering & adoption conference in Scotland last year

Jessica Eaton's coments in screenshots from July 2018

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3385533-Prominant-campaigning-role-of-Tara-Hewitt-NHS-TELI-Social-work-universities-etc

It's worth remembering where the idea of 'gender identity' came from and how it came to to be seen to have such importance.

The idea that children have an innate “gender identity” that may differ from their sex has been promoted globally by influential child abusers who worked with children.

Peter Newell, the most prominent campaigner in the UK for a ban on parental smacking, was jailed for six years for historic rape of a 13-year old boy.

Peter Newell wrote all three editions of the UNICEF Implementation Handbook for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC is a UN treaty published in 1989 and mentions a child’s sex as a basic characteristic that needs to be respected. However the third edition of the Handbook published in 2007 barely refers to a child’s sex. Instead it reinterprets Article 8 of the UNCRC to say that gender identity is a part of a child’s identity like national or ethnic identity, that needs to be preserved as a matter of human rights.

...the term ‘gender identity’ along with ‘gender role’ was coined in the 1950s by John Money, an American paediatrician who used it to justify gender reassignment for children and who conducted sexual experiments on children.

That the two men behind the concept of ‘gender identity’ of children and of this as an inherent aspect of a child’s identity that should be protected as a matter of human rights were child abusers should be sufficient grounds for concern.

www.christianconcern.com/our-issues/family-and-sexual-ethics/the-abusers-behind-the-idea-that-children-have-a-gender-identity

The whole article is worth a read (apologies for the source) - it also references the parts played by Stephen Whittle and Yogyakarta.

the parts played by Stephen Whittle and Yogyakarta.

That could be misinterpreted. I mean the parts played by them in promoting gender identity ideology, not that they have any part in child sex abuse.

Another article from the sort of source I would prefer not to use, this time an American right wing site, on what is happening in the US. But as one of the parents says:

As a lifelong Democrat, I am outraged by my former party and find it ironic that only conservative news outlets have reported my story without bias or censorship.

In Their Own Words: Parents of Kids Who Think They Are Trans Speak Out

Parents like us must remain anonymous to maintain our children’s privacy, and because we face legal repercussions if our names are revealed. Parents who do not support their child’s gender identity risk being reported to Child Protective Services and losing custody of their children.

Dr Michael Laidlow (endochrinologist) evidence given to California Senators on "Gender Affirming Care" in context of the Care System.

AB 2119 Foster Care Gender Bill

www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=0Lu1r1pyGFc

UK Social Care needs to be very aware of what has happened in North America

the parts played by Stephen Whittle and Yogyakarta.

That could be misinterpreted. I mean the parts played by them in promoting gender identity ideology, not that they have any part in child sex abuse.

threads:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3436955-Stephen-Whittle

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3398127-Stephen-Whittle-influential-TRA-asserts-We-know-we-have-Labour-behind-this-one-so-will-simply-do-our-best-to-get-them-elected-Corbyn-seems-to-confirm-this-at-Pink-News

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3397127-Stephen-Whittle-Press-for-Change-irresponsible-use-of-likely-suicides-follows-Helen-Belchers-Trans-Media-Watch

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3249035-Stephen-Whittle-s-blog-on-Genderquake-with-a-detailed-briefing-for-panelists

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3228002-Yogyakarta-principles

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3284051-yogyakarta-principles-plus-10

Sheila Jeffries explaining the Yogykarta Principles:

& discussing further yesterday at the New York launch of 'Declaration on Women's Sex Based Rights'
facebook.com/WLRNews4Women/
Gender Hurts panel with Sheila Jeffreys and the Pique Resilience Project.

Unfortunately many reportings of Social Care cases are not accurately reported and the complaxity and nuance in case decisions lost.

Exactly. I very much doubt that the single issue of a trans identification has been the cause of removal of any child from the family home and into the Looked After system.

It is hard to report on this type of case because there are so many factors and identifying details must be redacted.

This equally makes it very easy for newspapers to skew understanding for political purposes.

For instance, quite aside from trans issues, the Guardian under Patrick Butler framed a landmark judgement from Sir James Munby, which criticised social work practice and the rising numbers of forced adoptions, as a problem for (middle class) would-be adopters rather than an abuse of (working class) mothers.

Judgement: www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/Judgments/b-s-children.pdf

Take by Lisa M in typically brusque fashion: idgeofreason.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/a-note-to-kath-viner-and-patrick-butler/

So there you have the Grauniad framing and the Lisa M critique.

Behind that, you also have the fact that children need to be protected and this will sometimes require removal from their parents. And the law supports this. Here is Munby emphasising that re: B-S did not signal a reduction in child protection:

www.willispalmer.com/news/archive/sir-james-munby-re-b-s-ruling-changed-law-adoption/

Nothing in the realm of child protection is cut and dried, ever. And ideology invariably acts to undermine child protection rather than support it.

Some great posts about this. What really matters is that families and professionals are able to talk, discuss, collaborate and work together to support and protect children without threats and intimidation from political activists inserting themselves and their ideologies into the decision making process.
The case of Child J is a dire warning about the harm that can befall a child when an ideology is allowed to influence decision making in safeguarding cases:

www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2016/2430.html