News commentary on the Cass Report

[HagoftheNorth]

Thread to record where and when to find tv/radio commentary on the Cass report, so that it is easy for people to find it on catchup. If you’re listening/watching and it comes up, please record the channel/show and the time

BBC 1 headlined Cass on the lunchtime news. Decent coverage but of course their idea of "balance" was to include a tedious segment from a sad transwoman talking about their experiences.

"Adult services doesn't have the same safeguards" they are terrified .

"And hope that the waiting list is so long that she doesn't get seen."

They describe everything we've read about on this board for years. Thank god it's being broadcast on national radio. Those poor parents.

Now it's Dr Aidan Kelly, someone who makes a living out of transing kids.

Hannah Barnes politely pointed out he was making money out of these kids on WH

The interviewer is challenging him over affirmative approaches.

He's slippery

"Long comprehensive assessments"

Bs

Kelly says young people know their own minds.

"Lets wait until there's good evidence before we change anything."

"Other countries were prescribing far more PBs than the UK, so it must be a good thing"

He's saying that GIDs here was more conservative than other countries.

I don't care, just because they're dishing pbs out like smarties doesn't make what happened at GIDs ok.

Sky News 1 o'clock - Cass report 'welcomed' by.. Mermaids and Stonewall!
Interpreted criticism of care for 'trans' children as that there wasn't enough of it/wasn't prompt enough/wasn't respectful enough, not that it was poorly researched and based on flimsy evidence.

RTE TV[Irish state broadcaster] New 1 o'clock - their London correspondent John Kilraine focused on the report's criticism of the use of puberty blockers and hormones for young people, the lack of evidence re long-term effects, and the failure to consider other issues such as autism, mental health issues etc.
I'll see if I can get a link to that segment later.

Did they read the same report?😠

I can't believe he's being allowed to do what is little more than an adverstising slot

Well yes. He's saying that young people are accurately able to describe their state of mind and wishes at a moment in time. What, as an adult, he should be aware of, is that young people don't have the development to reliably predict whether this is a permanent state of mind and don't have the life experience to understand that your state of mind can change, especially when you're young.

How would he explain the massive safeguarding issue that's been happening in the NE whereby y6 children have been in a WhatsApp and daring each other to make suicide attempts and rate themselves based on what damage they did "made it to a and e, liver damage" etc ?

Do they know their own minds? Really?

Watershed moment is being used a lot.

Hugh Pym again

Kelly says he's the only independent under-18 service regulated by CQC. Nice little advert there.

Ah yes, that old, children know their own minds when it comes to going down an irreversible medical treatment path
...but not when it comes to things like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, getting tattoos, entering in to sexual realtionships, driving on public roads, entering into contracts, whether they are actually a cat, deciding they are going to marry mummy when they grow up.
It's weird isn't it?

Edit: Sorry, meant to quote CriticalCondition

Well, Cass got about half of the 45 minutes of the programme.

It seems like there's a conflict going on at the BBC in terms of how to cover this story.

The Guardian piece is disgracefully one-sided and completely ignores the awful
experiences of detransitioners like Keira Bell.

This thread exemplifies my concerns about what would happen - this report is being weaponised by both sides who are choosing to see what they want to see in it.

Dr Cass rightly highlights the fact is young people who are struggling with their gender identity that are caught up at the centre of these toxic debates. The news coverage is ironically exemplifying her very point!

Interview on lunchtime news R4, interview with clinician

1. "UK had a more conservative approach" - I can imagine this formed part of the Mermaids et al pressure on GIDS: "look at what they're doing in other countries, why isn't it happening here"
2. "Children know they're own minds" - sometimes they do but at all times they need adults who are willing to say "no"..

How is raising safeguarding issue weaponising the debate?

It can only be said that raising these issues are weaponising if someone truly believes that children can be born in the wrong body.

Watching with interest how the TRAs are attacking the report.

So far I've seen two main angles:

1. The report discounts a long list of studies because of the potential for bias. TRAs think they should not have been rejected, because 'double blind' tests are impossible for puberty blocker treatment, and a 'control group' would have been cruel.

2. A paragraph in the report states that hormones have some influence on infant behaviour, e.g. toy choices. That's being used as evidence that the report is supporting a conservative agenda. (Don't TRAs believe this kind of thing though? 'I knew I was a girl because I liked wearing skirts', etc.)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001y3gf

About 2 hours 20 in . Helen Joyce full warrior mode, wonderful to hear.

Sorry 2:10

HJ is one of the heroes.