Cass review - two years later

[stickygirl]

Well finally...

THE Cass Review into trans healthcare – the UK and Scottish Government’s cornerstone document for reforming youth gender identity services – is “deeply flawed”, containing biased research, outdated data, and manipulated evidence, research by an international team of more than 20 experts has concluded.

The analysis of the Cass Review – conducted by experts from Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, Australia, the US, and Canada and published in the BMC Medical Research Methodology journal – concluded that “significant” problems in the review’s methodology undermined the validity of its recommendations.

The newly published article in the BMC Medical Research Methodology journal comes to similar conclusions.

It found that, of the seven systematic reviews commissioned by Cass for her report, all seven had a “high risk of bias … driven by unexplained protocol deviations, ambiguous eligibility criteria, inadequate study identification, and the failure to integrate consideration of these limitations into the conclusions".

Concluding, its 21 authors state: “Our critical analysis reveals significant methodological problems in the commissioned systematic reviews and primary research that undermine the validity of the Cass report’s recommendations.

“During our review of the report and supplementary primary research, we found insufficient statistical rigor, unreliable datasets, claims presented without evidence, and misrepresentation of quotes from primary research participants.

“These flaws highlight a potential double standard present throughout the review and its subsequent recommendations, where evidence for gender-affirming care is held to a higher standard than the evidence used to support many of the report’s recommendations.

 

[Zrosey]

So of course the fascist regime of prez bonespurs had to pile on and add their own report packed full of lies, half truth, and mis-information.
Apparently this is a document none of the authors have even been attributed, and in their search to seem like serious science they ref the UK's Cass report!

So as this administration continues to destroy and burn history, books, and reputable science, they are busy producing something they believe will replace it.

These folks wrote a pretty good summation of all this....
https://www.science.org/content/article/researchers-slam-hhs-report-gender-affirming-care-youth
"HHS has thus far declined to say who authored the report, saying in a press release that names of contributors “are not initially being made public, in order to help maintain the integrity of this process.” A White House fact sheet released on Monday stated the agency “coordinated with a team of eight distinguished scholars” to produce the report, although their names have not yet been released either. “That’s one more reason why I can tell you this is an ideological, political document and not a scientific one,” Pick says. “Scientists stand by their work. There is nobody standing by this thing.”"

 

[stickygirl]

I read an recent interview of Cass, who sounds like she trying to distance herself from her report, while still claiming that children were being coerced into an irreversible trans path with drugs and surgery, without providing numbers ( again ). Once again, she gives the impression and then the interviewer repeated the assertion, that puberty blockers had unknown effects, despite the drug being licensed and prescribed for precocious puberty since the 1980s. As for prescribing them at 18 - HELLO?! - when do these people think puberty happens?

She underlines how the Tavistock clinic failed to follow up cases that stopped attending, without mentioning that the NHS gave them barely enough funding to pay salaries, never mind conduct labour-intensive surveys. She goes on to say the new trans-health centres will provide better care, but avoids mentioning waiting times for a first appointment can be 8 years.

 

[stickygirl]

Here's a page of information available to trans folk 'hoping' to transition in the UK, including a chart of current wait times "around two years - 8+ years" . Maybe by 2034 things will be different huh?

 

[coati]

I read an recent interview of Cass, who sounds like she trying to distance herself from her report, while still claiming that children were being coerced into an irreversible trans path with drugs and surgery, without providing numbers ( again ). Once again, she gives the impression and then the interviewer repeated the assertion, that puberty blockers had unknown effects, despite the drug being licensed and prescribed for precocious puberty since the 1980s. As for prescribing them at 18 - HELLO?! - when do these people think puberty happens?

She underlines how the Tavistock clinic failed to follow up cases that stopped attending, without mentioning that the NHS gave them barely enough funding to pay salaries, never mind conduct labour-intensive surveys. She goes on to say the new trans-health centres will provide better care, but avoids mentioning waiting times for a first appointment can be 8 years.

I agree, Cass is now seeking an escape route from her prior cruel and controlling policy recommendations. However, not being honest about her own extremist views, she is now saying that "both sides" are to blame, while acting like she cares about trans children.

 

[stickygirl]

Finally - some push back.
Dr Webberley, a strong supporter of trans rights and bery experienced in gender medicine has criticised Cass on a number of points, including the inflammatory reference to 'brutal surgery'.
I've already written to my MP raising the topics and criticisms Dr Webberley has raised.

Here's a list of the BS Cass came out with

• Most male children with gender incongruence grew out of it and became gay men
• Claiming that children were being led by social media and given a false narrative
• Charlatans just handing out inappropriate drugs ( ie qualified medical doctors and endocrinologists )
• Quite brutal gender affirming surgeries
• Children have been weaponised ( one side is asking for evidence based healthcare; the other is seeking to restrict it )

Hilary Cass is a paediatrician and is not qualified as a gender specialist ( She was appointed by the govt )

Fifteen Australian clinicians documented striking internal contradictions between the Cass review’s own evidence and its conclusions. A team from Yale, representing 86 years of combined clinical experience and over 4,800 patients treated, raised serious methodological concerns. The Endocrine Society, WPATH, and professional bodies across the world responded by reaffirming their support for gender-affirming care and noting that the review did not include the expertise of those with direct clinical experience.

 

[stickygirl]

Found this on Reddit that lists reactions from medical professionals who actually have experience in dealing with trans health ( unlike The Baroness Hilary Cass herself )

 

[stickygirl]

I don't like to start new Trans threads for fear of provoking backlash in today's increasingly anti-trans media. So I've tacked this on to the Cass review. Call it more reaction.
When I voted for Labour in the UK, I hoped there would be fairness and a concern for individual rights, but no - the juggernaut of political momentum increasingly favours oligarchs, plutocrats and mealy mouthed Karens.

Caroline Litman's daughter took her own life in 2022 and since then, she has been a staunch advocate for change: fighting back against the politically convenient and naive Cass review that has given politicians an excuse to turn their backs on trans health care.
Caroline was granted access to Wes Streeting, the current UK health minister and here's a long and well written response to that meeting. [Trigger warning - it's a hard read]

 

[coati]

I don't like to start new Trans threads for fear of provoking backlash in today's increasingly anti-trans media. So I've tacked this on to the Cass review. Call it more reaction.
When I voted for Labour in the UK, I hoped there would be fairness and a concern for individual rights, but no - the juggernaut of political momentum increasingly favours oligarchs, plutocrats and mealy mouthed Karens.

Caroline Litman's daughter took her own life in 2022 and since then, she has been a staunch advocate for change: fighting back against the politically convenient and naive Cass review that has given politicians an excuse to turn their backs on trans health care.
Caroline was granted access to Wes Streeting, the current UK health minister and here's a long and well written response to that meeting. [Trigger warning - it's a hard read]

Thanks for posting this link and your introduction.

As I read this summary of the meeting, I continue to be deeply disturbed by the increasing proportion of government officials who are either outright control freaks or those who think every issue requires appeasement of the control freaks.

This is how authoritarianism is established. This is how cruelty becomes public policy. Resisting this trend is a civic responsibility.

 

[stickygirl]

Thanks for posting this link and your introduction.

As I read this summary of the meeting, I contintinue to be deeply disturbed by the increasing proportion of government officials who are either outright control freaks or those who think every issue requires appeasement of the control freaks.

This is how authoritarianism is established. This is how cruelty becomes public policy. Resisting this trend is a civic responsibility.

Thanks x
I feel bad for any parents having to balance their trans child’s mental health with the closed healthcare doors. I was lucky - transitioning when I was dealt with sympatheticly but even so I engaged in self harm.
The system is rigged to hide trans suicides; parents risk being charged with abuse; and doctors are too frightened to help or even admit there’s a problem.

 

[coati]

Thanks x
I feel bad for any parents having to balance their trans child’s mental health with the closed healthcare doors. I was lucky - transitioning when I was dealt with sympatheticly but even so I engaged in self harm.
The system is rigged to hide trans suicides; parents risk being charged with abuse; and doctors are too frightened to help or even admit there’s a problem.

I vividly recall the accounts you wrote about your transitioning process. Those accounts are the most historically significant writings that I've seen on Lit. As a cis male with only casual familiarity about trans issues, your straighforward accounts opened my eyes.

Twelve years ago I still foolishly thought things were gradually going to get easier for trans people. Boy, was I wrong. The path to civil rights is probably never a line with continuous positive slope on a graph. Control freaks are always looking for a scapegoat.

Despite the recent major setbacks in civil rights, I still believe that most humans value justice over hate. I appreciate the writings of you and others who speak out honestly.and rationally throughout the turbulence of history.