Browsing: Cass Review

Cass Review – deeply flawed and biased

Our articles about the Cass Review reveal a deeply flawed and biased process that has caused significant harm to the trans community, especially trans youth. We consistently demonstrate how the Cass Review, intended to be an independent assessment of gender identity services for young people, has instead become a tool for undermining trans healthcare and amplifying transphobic narratives.

Embedded structural bias

A primary focus of our investigation is the structural bias embedded within the Cass Review from its inception. We highlight how the review was conducted by a cisgender-only governance board, and that it excluded trans people from decision-making at all levels. We reveal how this exclusion, despite initial denials, was proven through Freedom of Information requests. We show how this lack of trans representation led to a biased interpretation of evidence and a failure to understand the lived experiences of trans people.

Flawed methodology

Our analysis also focuses on the flawed methodology employed by the Cass Review. We expose how the review selectively included research from discredited, trans-hostile sources, while ignoring international guidelines and best practice. We note that the Review failed to establish baseline referral figures and focused disproportionately on AFAB (assigned female at birth) trans youth, playing into right-wing narratives. We demonstrate how the review misrepresented the Affirmative Model of care, echoing trans-hostile sentiments.

Problematic language

We highlight the problematic language used in the Cass Review’s interim report, which we argue ventures disturbingly close to being trans-hostile and hostile to children’s rights and autonomy. We analyse how the report frames the care of trans young people as “everyone’s business”, thereby undermining the rights of the young people, their parents and clinicians. We show how the review’s language panders to the trans-hostile movement within and outside of the NHS.

Based on predetermined outcomes

Our articles scrutinize the interim service specifications and recommendations arising from the Cass Review. We reveal how the review recommended that referrals to Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) be removed, and initial diagnosis be moved to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), creating further unnecessary barriers to accessing treatment. We highlight how these recommendations appear to be based on predetermined outcomes, and that the Cass Review is not as independent as it claims. We demonstrate how the review ignored the need for a trans advisory board to ensure the governance panel is conducted without cisgender bias.

Linked with trans-hostile individuals and organisations

We further expose the Cass Review’s links to trans-hostile individuals and organisations. We document how the review engaged with researchers known for their transphobic views and met with individuals involved in implementing anti-trans policies. We reveal how the review has been celebrated by the trans-hostile movement, which we argue should have raised alarm bells.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our articles on the Cass Review present a damning indictment of a process that has failed in its stated aims. We argue that the review has systematically undermined trans healthcare for young people in the UK, and has amplified harmful misinformation about the trans community. Our coverage reveals a biased and flawed review that has resulted in real harm to the trans community, and calls for the complete overhaul of trans healthcare and a move towards the inclusion of trans voices at all levels.