Bayswater Support
@BayswaterSG
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Support for parents of children IDing as trans. We seek evidence-based care & are cautious about ‘affirmation’. hello @bayswatersupport .org.uk
UK national organisation
Joined October 2019
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Safeguarding trans-identified children and adolescents — a comprehensive guide for schools to help them provide appropriate support that complies with the latest NHS and legal advice. Parents will also find invaluable advice for discussions with schools.
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...psychological effects may be.
It's also not known whether hormone blockers affect the development of the teenage brain or children's bones.”
We are glad the site reflects uncertainty over the blocker’s effects, to help families make informed decisions.
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The NHS website has updated its info on gender dysphoria & puberty blockers:
Old version: "The effects of treatment with GnRH analogues are considered to be fully reversible so treatment can usually be stopped at any time after a discussion between you, your child & your MDT” >>
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Gender dysphoria is complex and multifactorial. Immediate affirmation of a child’s attested trans identity may obscure the background circumstances that led to this conclusion. Child and adolescent trans identity — the tip of the iceberg?
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New version: "Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria.
Although the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) advises this is a physically reversible treatment if stopped, it is not known what the… >>
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Bayswater Support Group welcomes the decision by
@sajidjavid
to launch an inquiry into child gender services, and we hope it will be expanded to include the education and charity sectors as well as medical provision for 18-25 year olds.
1/8
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Teachers are regularly briefed on DfE's "Keeping Children Safe in Education" guidance. As parents of a particularly vulnerable group of children, we feel there is additional safeguarding information that schools need, especially in light of the ongoing NHS Cass Review. 🧵 1/12
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Bayswater is proud of the support it has offered to more than 400 families over the last 3 years, and we continue to seek evidence-based care for our children.
1/
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How did a school come to take decisions with such detrimental consequences for its pupils? The answer lies in a Church of England schools policy (issued in 2014, updated 2019) 🧵 1/15
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We urge DfE to return to the findings of the Cass Review and create guidance that recognises the additional vulnerabilities faced by children seeking to explain their difficulties through a cross-sex identity:
🧵 1/9
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The Scottish govt's proposed conversion practices bill enshrines in law the contested concept of gender identity and represents a profound interference with the right to respect for family life & the ability to protect children from poorly evidenced medical interventions.🧵
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Schools, teachers, parents & well-meaning peers often assume that affirming a child's trans identity by agreeing to new name/pronouns is the kind thing to do and that this is associated with mental health benefits.
This is not supported by the available evidence.
#edutwitter
🧵
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A senior government official is quoted as saying we need "fudge" and "compromise", neither of these are appropriate terms when it comes to child safeguarding. Protecting pupils from harm takes top priority and must not be subject to trade-offs.
3/9
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Bayswater welcomes NHS England's decision to ban new prescriptions of puberty blockers for under 16s but would like to know why there is no response to the NICE finding of very low quality evidence for cross-sex hormones. 1/5
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At Bayswater we regularly hear stories similar to those recounted here about the detrimental impact of gender ideology content in schools:
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We're glad Sonia Appleby got justice from
@TaviAndPort
. Genuine concerns about GIDS were dismissed as transphobia - an accusation
@PaulJThinks
has levelled at us too recently. We publish our correspondence with him below, in the public interest.
1/
"There needs to be a calm consideration of what staff have been saying the last 16 years in order to work out how to take the GIDS service forward and meet the incredible need that is out there"
- says Anna Hutchinson, who worked at GIDS as a clinical psychologist
#Newsnight
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An important new UK audit of gender transition patients finds that 20% stop treatment, half citing regret/detransition: "questions may be raised about the phenomenon of overdiagnosis, overtreatment, or iatrogenic harm as found in other medical fields."
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This interview with
@nadhimzahawi
raises serious concerns about the extent to which
@educationgovuk
understands the findings of
@thecassreview
🧵1/13
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A clinical psychologist writing for
@Transgendertrd
warns that early-childhood social transition can cause problems when the child starts puberty: it's a short-term strategy with long-term consequences.
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Whatever a patient's age, medical interventions must be evidence-based: there need to be proven benefits and confidence that the treatment does not cause harm.
The NHS policy on cross-sex hormones for under 18s demonstrably fails to meet that duty of care to patients. 1/3
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We hear often from parents that schools' view of their child's gender ID issues made an already complex situation worse.
We ask schools: please understand gender identity problems from a child development & mental health perspective, not solely as a minority rights issue 1/6
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Parents have been raising the alarm about the treatment model for many years and have not just been ignored but maligned for advocating an approach that has now been substantiated by the Cass Review (link in thread to false accusations from the then head of the Tavistock Trust).
Bayswater is proud of the support it has offered to more than 400 families over the last 3 years, and we continue to seek evidence-based care for our children.
1/
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"Children cannot be frozen in time to await the production of a definitive policy"
@BayswaterSG
parents agree. The ongoing delay to
@educationgovuk
guidance is indefensible & causing harm. 1/11
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The NHS advice for schools could not be clearer:
“Supporting a social transition without the involvement of parents or carers can create complex difficulties within families and is not recommended."
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Today’s Cass Review update indicates a welcome shift to more holistic support for children: “Staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective in order to embed the care of children and young people with gender uncertainty within a broader child and adolescent health context.”
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Where is the evidence for this
@thetimes
statement that some children will benefit from transition? The Cass Review certainly made no such claim.
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A thread about unsafe prescribing and the exploitation of children for money.
A thread about a rotten apple in the midst of the LGBT advocacy sector.
A thread about GenderGP.
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The Trust told us "it's important we adopt a position of neutrality in relation to individual groups". So why does the GIDS website have links/refs to GIRES, Mermaids, Gendered Intelligence & Tranzwiki, but not us? Does the Trust value some parents more than others?
9/
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Schools should not be delivering what amounts to affirmation therapy by endorsing a child's cross-sex identity.
The link between social transition, body dysmorphia and medicalisation means such an intervention is clearly beyond the remit of education professionals.
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It's not ok for a senior public servant, bound by Nolan principles, to dismiss a stakeholder group - parents of vulnerable children, including those in his Trust's care - in this way. It's not ok to say one thing and do another.
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A new study from Germany reports "the level of life satisfaction in transgender people was not increased in [those] who had undergone gender-affirming surgery as compared to those who were unoperated"
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For
@BBCPanorama
Carl Heneghan, Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford Univ, analysed the evidence about medical interventions for gender dysphoria in children. (The Times, 8 April 2019). This is what he wrote. >>
#AskForTheEvidence
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Mr Zahawi's suggestion that a "trans" identity can be reliably diagnosed in childhood is completely at odds with the interim Cass findings, and his proposals around single-sex facilities in schools are unworkable & potentially contrary to recent
@EHRC
guidance. 2/13
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We are also concerned that what is emerging is a two-tier service: an evidence-based approach for under 16s but a continuation of an ideologically driven 'gender affirming care' model that removes the right to proper safeguarding for those who are 16 and above. 2/5
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We urge Mr Zahawi to return to the evidence from the interim Cass Review and the EHRC's recommendations on compliance with the Equality Act before formulating the DfE's guidance for schools. 13/13
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.
@TheEconomist
reports on concerns about
@NHSEngland
's new pilot gender clinics for adults. The protocol is blatantly unsafe esp for vulnerable young people (17 and above), whose mental health needs are overlooked.
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The Cass Review cites sexual abuse/other trauma as a potential source of gender distress (page 57, interim report). Schools need to be aware that a request for social transition may conceal other issues that need addressing.
5/12
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Excellent letter in today's
@ObserverUK
pinpointing what is at stake for families supporting gender-questioning children and young people.
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Our iceberg graphic illustrates how unquestioning affirmation of a trans identity can mask a range of serious problems. Once gender is mentioned, all too often these children are exceptionalised and removed from normal safeguarding protocols.
2/9
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In other words
@PaulJThinks
@PaulBurstow
: we're real & growing, and ignoring us is silly. What drives us is not transphobia, but the timeless parental instinct: to fight our children's corner. Tossing us aside makes your job not easier, but impossible.
14/
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This Times editorial fundamentally misunderstands the implications of a child seeking to identify outside their sex category.
1/5
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Parental consent for social transition is a welcome step, but
@educationgovuk
guidance must be clear: parents do not have the right to demand their child is treated as the opposite sex for all purposes, or to impose their personal beliefs on the rest of the school community.
1/6
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We welcome today's interim report from
@thecassreview
& its recognition that the current service model "is not a safe or viable long-term option". The report deserves a detailed and considered reading, here we aim only to point to some key findings.
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@acamh
@Autism
@HPUKParents
@PSHEassociation
@rcgp
@RCPCHtweets
1: Listen to your child if they tell you they’re trans
It's vital to let your child voice what's important to them. You don’t have to accept it at face value, what matters is keeping communications open. If you don’t listen to them now, why would they listen to you later?
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In order to offer appropriate pastoral support, teachers must be aware of the high rates of co-morbid mental health issues among trans-IDed students. This group has disproportionate rates of autism, depression, anxiety & eating disorders, often predating any gender issues.
4/12
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The term "trans child" implies a stable identity; the evidence is quite the contrary. As Cass states: "some children & young people will remain fluid in their gender identity up to early to mid-20s, so there is a limit as to how much certainty one can achieve in late teens" 5/13
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The NHS statement that it is stopping "the routine use of puberty suppressing hormones because of a lack of evidence for their use" is entirely at odds with the reality that 2x as many children received PBs in the last year. A quick review of the evidence:
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By conflating transgender identity with sexual orientation, the current KCSIE guidance overlooks specific safeguarding risks for trans-identified children. This thread outlines the key issues that schools need to address in safeguarding policies.
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School policies need to recognise
* there is a significant, unexplained increase in children ID-ing as trans/non-binary
* there is disagreement about how to support this group e.g. risks vs merits of social transition
* there are safeguarding & other concerns for this group
3/12
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We are surprised that an NHS clinic refuses to engage with parents on ideological grounds, especially when our concerns are evidence-based and reflect many of the issues raised in the recent Cass Review interim statement.
2/
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School leaders need an understanding of the complexity and vulnerability of their trans-identified students; instead,
@HMC_Org
will present conference attendees with a simplistic & glamorized perspective that disregards the co-morbidities and safeguarding risks for this group.
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But progress is impossible if you hold yr hands over yr ears while repeating 'transphobia'. We expect more seriousness than that.
@CareQualityComm
judged GIDS leadership "inadequate". Show real leadership by working with us to improve outcomes for our gender-distressed kids.
end/
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While schools await more guidance from
@educationgovuk
, today's speech by Attorney General
@SuellaBraverman
clarifies their duties under the Equality Act and offers invaluable information about social transitioning based on the findings of the Cass interim review. A summary 🧵:
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Nearly 350 parents have joined our group. We've submitted evidence to Parliament, held seminars with NHS experts, met MPs, Peers & MSPs, and engage with the Cass review. We organise meet-ups, zoom calls, a vibrant online support forum and much else. Parents value our work.
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Safeguarding policies should highlight the potentially harmful activities a trans-identified child may engage in, including 'breast binding' & 'tucking'. These practices can have negative, long-term health effects & must not be normalised or dismissed as innocuous.
6/12
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We're parents devoted to our kids in tough times. Our doubts about the efficacy of life-long experimental drugs are reasonable. We're proud NHS users. As we told the BMJ, the NHS should work with us, not point judgmental fingers as Dr Wood did.
3/
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We're proud to publish this letter from a mum about her son, with the author's permission. Readers may know that
@Medium
censored it, but to us it represents everything good & steady that a parent's love provides. Our best wishes to this mum, Donna M.
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Today is
#DetransAwarenessDay
.
We hold the utmost admiration for those who have been brave enough to stand up and tell the world that gender transition was not the panacea they were led to believe it would be.
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We're grateful to the Scottish GRUnit for meeting us recently to discuss our concerns over its proposals to reform the gender recognition process, notably lowering eligibility to 16yr olds, the removal of medical diagnosis and reduction in wait time to 3 mths.
@ShonaRobison
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Last yr Dr Heather Wood of GIDS told 3000 UK psychologists that we were "not an appropriate resource" for parents & our website was "blatantly transphobic". Her problem stemmed from our link to
@Transgendertrd
, a site many parents find helpful and informative.
2/
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We were astonished by the discriminatory language and double standards in
@PaulJThinks
's letter. So we wrote to
@PaulBurstow
, the Trust's Chair, asking him to revisit the matter.
Read our letter & make up your own mind.
8/
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Some lobby groups encourage children to keep secrets from parents by suggesting that anyone who questions the child’s desire to transition to the opposite sex is harmful. Children presenting as trans can be vulnerable to online grooming and schools must be aware of this.
8/12
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Finally, the umbrella term 'LGBT' used in KCSIE lacks the requisite clarity for safeguarding: unlike those exploring their sexual orientation, trans-identified children may seek irrevocable medical interventions based on 'very low certainty' evidence (NICE review).
11/12
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Cass repeatedly emphasises the complexity of gender dysphoria in childhood and notes that there are many potential outcomes. Not every trans-identified child or adolescent will continue to identify as trans into adulthood. Far from it. 3/13
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It is staggering that schools need parental permission to take a pupil on a trip, yet can transition a child's gender without the parent's knowledge. Information-sharing is critical for safety. 3/6
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We recommend that KCSIE and school safeguarding policies distinguish between sexual orientation and transgender identity, emphasising the fluidity of gender identity, the many possible outcomes for a gender-questioning child, and the specific risks this group face.
12/12
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The Trust demanded moderation and balance of us, but not of its employee Dr Wood, who castigated us in extreme language while praising Mermaids as "an award winning charity who do some hugely important work".
10/
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At
@BayswaterSG
we offer support for parents whose same-sex attracted teenagers have been let down by schools and lobby groups. Sadly, homophobic bullying is a common precursor to the announcement of a trans identity, as described by
@GaryJPowell
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We welcome
@thecassreview
final report, which represents a sea change in the treatment of trans-identified children & young people. A sense of relief is combined with sadness that the change in direction in NHS services has come too late for some of our children. Statement:
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We are particularly concerned about the rapid expansion of adult clinics, where 2/3 of referrals are under the age of 25 and where there are effectively no barriers to medical interventions despite a similar lack of evidence to “support safety or clinical effectiveness” 5/5
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Bayswater parents have reported instances where a teacher has directed their child to lobby groups who host online forums where children can access information about self-medicating by sourcing hormones online, thus circumventing NHS treatment protocols and safeguards.
7/12
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A child announcing a trans identity may have experienced sexual trauma, bullying/abuse, they may be struggling with their sexual orientation, they may have autism or other mental health conditions (often undiagnosed). Cass repeatedly emphasises this multifactorial context. 8/13
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We are disappointed by the Tavistock's response and have previously highlighted the way genuine concerns about GIDS have been falsely dismissed as "transphobia".
3/
We're glad Sonia Appleby got justice from
@TaviAndPort
. Genuine concerns about GIDS were dismissed as transphobia - an accusation
@PaulJThinks
has levelled at us too recently. We publish our correspondence with him below, in the public interest.
1/
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We are often told that conversion therapy bills have been introduced in other countries with no issues.
Not so, according to Dr Alexander Korte, who describes the detrimental consequences of German CT legislation on clinicians.
Full quote and video link below🧵
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All this nuance is lost in Mr Zahawi's description of the "trans child", where "parents and experts" are said to have agreed on the child's trans status. There is no reliable way to reach such a conclusion in childhood. This is one of the most important points made by Cass. 4/13
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Bayswater parents report high rates of bullying prior to their child expressing a desire to identify as the opposite sex. Safeguarding policies should indicate the potential for bullying to be a cause of gender distress (not simply a consequence).
9/12
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Finally, this is not a culture war for our parents, who are dedicated to protecting their children in the face of professionals allowing their safety to be compromised for an ideological viewpoint.
END
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@NHSEngland
pays you to serve us & many others who disagree strongly with us. Our job is to help you do that, by helping you understand us. It's complicated by the lack of sound evidence guiding your treatments, & no consensus among parents. Just strong feelings & politics.
15/
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The Trust ceo tells the world he will "work with everyone". The GIDS Director told the National Lottery that contacts "with all groups" were "vitally important". But the discriminatory reality is that only some groups are acceptable.
11/
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Cass describes how the announcement of a trans identity can cause a child's other needs to be neglected. She suggests "it is not helpful to exceptionalise gender identity issues" and advocates for a "more holistic" approach to supporting these children.
10/12
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Identity development is an essential task of adolescence — the idea of a "trans child" is not supported by the evidence. As Cass says, "young people may not reach a settled gender expression until their mid-20s".
4/9
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“"Being male is preferable to being female and vulnerable.”
Thoughts prompted by
@jk_rowling
’s essay & the response to it by
@Mermaids_Gender
1/2
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The NHS continues to use ideological language and subjective diagnostic classifications, which have been formulated under the influence of activist groups such as WPATH and are not evidence led. 3/5
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Language matters, and it is notable that the Cass Review never uses the term "trans child".
@BayswaterSG
recommend that
@educationgovuk
&
@nadhimzahawi
adopt the more accurate terminology used by Cass when discussing children with gender dysphoria. 6/13
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Bayswater Support Group welcomes the emphasis from
@nadhimzahawi
to the Education Select Committee that "Parents should be front and centre" when it comes to safeguarding.
THREAD: 1/11
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Schools have a responsibility to avoid concretising what might be a transient developmental phase, particularly as this aspect of identity is tied to irrevocable hormonal and surgical interventions and a life as a medical patient.
5/9
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Last year
@BayswaterSG
wrote to
@educationgovuk
asking for updates to the statutory school safeguarding guidance to reflect the interim Cass review findings. Over 12 months later — as outlined in this article — nothing has been done.
A short thread.
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We agree with David Bell that "speedily agreeing with a child that they are of the wrong gender" has resulted in a failure to address "the many complex problems that affect these young people". Social transition is thus very much part of the problem. 1/3
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A student's desire to reject their natal sex in favour of a new identity should be a prompt to reflect on what might be going on in that child's life to have led to that decision.
END
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@JolyonMaugham
sometimes when we ourselves are personally invested in the outcome, it can be hard to maintain the distance necessary to assume the good faith of those with whom we disagree. But holding onto that good faith is the only way out of the mess this issue has got into.
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The interim Cass Review notes "As with many other contemporary polarised disagreements, the situation is exacerbated when there is no space to have open, non-judgemental discussions about these differing perspectives."
END/
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Stephanie Davies-Arai led the way in asking questions and demanding evidence for paediatric transition. She has been an invaluable source of knowledge for many parents and we are delighted to see her work recognised with this award.
*Announcement*
Tonight we are proud to celebrate the award of British Empire Medal to Stephanie Davies-Arai
@cwknews
as founder of Transgender Trend for services to children in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.🍾🍾🍾
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950
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Finally, it’s really important, when talking about distressed children and adolescents, that we have less bluster, more calm exploration of evidence & risk.
Difference of opinion isn't hatred, it's the oxygen that science and society need to breathe and grow.
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Today Sweden's National Board for Health & Welfare calls for "restraint" in the use of hormones by under 18s suffering gender dysphoria.
"the risks of blockers & cross-sex hormones for under 18s currently outweigh the possible benefits for this group".
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Recently,
@BBCNewsnight
reported on a 2005-6 review of
@TaviAndPort
’s Gender Identity Development Service (then known as GIDU), by Dr David Taylor. We have obtained the report via FOI and are publishing it below.
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*just published*
New analysis of Dutch and UK outcomes for early pubertal suppression concludes that "results were more negative than positive for the English females”, who became more dissatisfied with their bodies.
>>
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Under the Scottish proposals, a parent who does not subscribe to a belief in an innate, immutable gender identity as the simplistic explanation for their child's distress could be accused of "suppressing" their child's gender identity.
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But when
@PaulJThink
's response arrived, he told us that, because he saw us as 'gender critical', the NHS Trust could no longer deal with us.
@EHRCChair
@EHRC
@MForstater
@legalfeminist
@anyabike
Read his letter & make up your own mind.
6/
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Over 97% of the 1800 study participants reported at least one side effect of binding, with pain being the most common. Just over 50% reported problems with respiratory symptoms and more than ¾ reported skin issues such as swelling, itching, infection and even scarring.
5/10
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Despite claims by NHSE to have 'moved away' from WPATH, this organisation continues to have close ties and thus a profound influence over NHS policy and practice, particularly via senior clinicians in the adult gender identity clinics 🧵
NHSE claim they 'moved away from WPATH' over 5 years ago.
INCORRECT: WPATH guidelines are currently cited in two appendices to NHSE's adult non-surgical gender identity services specification.
(Link in following tweet).
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The
@educationgovuk
schools guidance contains a long-overdue warning about the consequential nature of social transition and the lack of evidence for this intervention. The urge for caution is a welcome step in the right direction. 1/7
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