The LGBTQ+ Representative Committee has released a statement condemning The Cass Report, a landmark review of Trans+ healthcare provision in the UK.
The final report, which was published last week, was widely accepted by gender-critical activists and both the Conservative and Labour parties but rejected by LGBTQ+ charities and groups.
In a statement shared on the committee’s official social media, the representative group said: “We utterly rebuke the findings of The Cass Review.
“Its findings are unscientific, methodology deeply flawed & its regard to the wellbeing of Trans+ people, particularly young people, shocking to say the least.
“We were promised an important review into Trans+ provision & what we have gotten is deplorable.”
The statement went on to criticise the report’s advocates.
It criticised: “The reaction from national political parties & public bodies, for their blind willingness to accept every measure in this report, & the deplorable roles the parties have played in stoking transphobia”.
The report criticised the current provision for Trans+ healthcare.
Some recommendations included additional steps to allow young people to be seen by a medical professional specialising in gender issues, and the prevention of age 18-25 Trans+ people accessing adult gender services, recommending ‘follow-through’ services instead.
The report marks a shift away from services focused on a gender-affirming approach and instead, treating gender dysphoria similarly to developmental issues.
Groups have dismissed the report for claims of bias and unscientific methodology, with many Trans+ research articles discarded.
The committee’s statement follows House of Commons proceedings on Monday April 15, with Secretary of State for Health Victoria Atkins fully accepting the report.
She said: “I will work with NHS England to root out the ideology that has caused so much unnecessary harm.”
Similarly, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting promised to follow through on the report, saying: “Even in a general election year, there is surely one issue on which we can down tools and work together.”
Streeting recently apologised for his previous comments around Trans+ identity, saying that his former view that “trans men are men and trans women are women” was not correct and that he “takes the criticism [for it] on the chin”.
The LGBTQ+ Representative Committee has promised to “stand alongside…Trans+ siblings and fight for their liberation”.
With both the Conservative and Labour parties promising to accept the report’s findings in full, Trans+ young people will soon find their access to healthcare further impeded.
