Over 100 individuals and organisations have issued an open letter to the Health Secretary criticising the Cass Review
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES VIA CANVA
A wide range of members of the trans community, from organisations to individuals involved in healthcare, have written a joint letter to Health Secretary, Wes Streeting. The letter expresses their lack of confidence in the Cass Review and concerns that healthcare for trans people is being degraded.
Three key requests were made in the letter. The first was that the government explain how the Cass review was commissioned. It expressed some concerns that Baroness Cass was not as neutral as previously claimed when she was chosen to lead the review.
The letter highlights that the review was originally set up to look at the issues faced by trans individuals when seeking gender services, but instead imposed highly controversial and damaging policies. Another request of the letter was that these policies be suspended immediately, particularly the current prohibitions on prescription of GnRH analogues (aka puberty blockers) for trans children.
The third request was that the Health Secretary support the British Medical Association’s ongoing review of methodology used in the Cass review and its conclusions.
Keyne Walker, the Strategy Director for TransActual, said: “Trans people were specifically excluded from the review process. This is in clear contravention of the NHS Principle of ‘nothing about us without us’. Meanwhile, spurious and misleading theories have been included with no supporting evidence.”
Walker added that though the Health Secretary was not involved in commissioning the review, he has supported the implementation of its policies despite evidence that they are already doing harm to trans children, including declining mental health and an increase in suicidal ideation. This is at odds with his statements post-election that he hoped for a reset in Government-LGBTQIA relations.
The full letter can be read on TransActual’s website. Over 100 people and organisations have signed the letter. Key signatories include TransActual, the Gender Identity Research and Education Society and Feminist Gender Equality Network. It is an open letter and people can still sign their name.
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