The Cass Review Statement

Woman’s Place UK (WPUK) welcomes the publication of the final report of the (Cass) Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people.

The report is a damning indictment of those in positions of power who should have listened to and acted on concerns raised by clinicians, parents, feminist groups and others, but did not.

Very little in Dr Hilary Cass’s report will come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.

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We applaud the bravery and tenacity of those who sounded the alarm within the NHS, education, academia,social work, trade unions, parliament and the media, in the face of smears, slurs, threats and damage to careers and reputation.

We have nothing but admiration for those young people who have spoken publicly about their experiences of GIDS, in spite of enormous pressure to remain silent. Alarm bells have been ringing for years but too few people have been listening. Much damage has already been done in that time but it is our hope that this report marks a turning point.

We are proud to have given platforms to many courageous women to speak about this issue at WPUK public meetings, beginning with our first meeting in Cambridge in 2017.

Stephanie Davies-Arai BEM is a communication skills trainer and author of Communicating with Kids and is the founder of TransgenderTrend*

Sue Evans is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist for the national gender identity service for children where she blew the whistle in 2005 #WPUKLewes

Dr Heather Brunskell Evans, philosopher & author of Transgender Body Politics, Inventing Transgender Children & Young People, The Sexualized Body and the Medical Authority of Pornography: Performing Sexual Liberation

The Cass Report is a vindication of all those who have spoken out and it is a reminder of the importance of scientific rigour, scrutiny and public discourse. After years of experimental treatment and woefully inadequate clinical guidance, children must now receive the holistic medical and emotional care they need.

WPUK believes that the underfunding of CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Medical Health Services) has played a significant part in this scandal and this must be urgently addressed by government investment in services.

WPUK maintains that children in Scotland deserve the same standard of care demanded by the Cass report recommendations. We support calls for the Scottish Government to implement the recommendations in full and to close the Sandyford Clinic as part of a root and branch review.

Professor Michele Moore is an expert in Inclusive Education and Disability Studies. She leads human rights projects across the world to support children, their families and those who work with them. She is the Co-Editor of the ground-breaking book Inventing Transgender Children and Young People.

Woman’s Place UK

*In recent weeks, some of our Youtube content has inaccurately received a community flag for ‘conversion therapy’. WPUK is against all forms of conversion therapy. We have never, & would never platform a conversion therapist. We are working to get this resolved.

WPUK further reading

The ‘Natal female’ question by Dr A Hutchinson and Dr M Midgen

The Tavistock: children and young people

Keira Bell v Tavistock: Women’s Rights, Healthcare, and the Law

A Woman’s Place is whistle blowing

GIDS interim service specifications: WPUK submission to NHS England

WPUK position on Gillick Competence and Fraser Guidelines

In the media

Ministerial Statement

EHRC Statement on the final Cass Review

The Observer Thanks to Cass, evidence not ideology will be used to guide children seeking gender advice Sonia Sodha

The Guardian Gender medicine ‘built on shaky foundations’, Cass review finds

The BMJ Cass interview

BBC Cass review: Health secretary criticises gender care ‘culture of secrecy’