Personal analysis of The Cass Review findings
The Cass Review has laid bare a systematic lack of proper clinical evidence for the use of the ‘ gender affirming model’. Unlike what was discovered thanks to the publication of the WPATH files, the Cass Review puts the welfare of children as paramount and leaves the tropes of political and trans activism aside in favour of medical knowledge, and reason.
Puberty Blocker use
Puberty and adolescence are one of the most important parts of human maturation. It is the moment we become our own and figure out who we are. It is a moment of exploration, of development, both physically, emotionally, and mentally. Somehow we have lost that common knowledge and we treat puberty as a medical condition which requires regulation via drugs, hormones and surgery.
Puberty blockers are widely prescribed to children who attend gender services across Australia, as part of the ‘gender affirming model’. It is argued that this allows kids ‘time to think’ but this could not be further from the truth, as the Cass Review reveals most children will continue with masculinising/feminizing hormones, some even with surgery turning them into forever patients.
Furthermore the report has found “there was insufficient or inconsistent evidence about the effect of puberty suppression on psychological or psychosocial well being, cognitive development, cardio metabolic risk or fertility” (Cass Review, Page 32)
The Gender affirming model causes more harm than we can comprehend “although a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is needed for initiating medical treatment, we don’t have evidence that this dysphoria will continue into adulthood or that medical intervention is the best option” (Cass Review, Page 29)
A recent study published in 2024 followed adolescents from age 11 to 26 concluded that “gender non-confirmity was high in adolescence but reduced into the early 20’s and was associated with poorer self concept and mental health issues throughout development. It was also more often associated with same sex attraction when compared to those who did not have gender non contentedness ( Rawee et al. 2024)” (Cass Review, page 118).
During the original Dutch study in 2011 (de Vries et al, 2011b) 89% of the young study population were same-sex attracted. Other studies put this population around 68%.
Roles of Schools and Social Media
We should not ignore or diminish the role of schools and social media in relation to our children. Despite the fact that the Cass Review did not find definite evidence of better or worse outcomes for children who socially transition, there is a correlation between social transition and more intense gender dysphoria.
The Cass Review also heard concerns from many parents about their child being “socially transitioned and affirmed in their expressed gender without parental involvement. This is detrimental to the child’s wellbeing in the long term, especially in a moment when parental guidance is needed” (Cass Review, page 160).
The safeguarding of children should be our utmost priority, parental involvement should be always considered, without it children are exposed to potential predatory behavior online, influencers or media personalities who do not have the interests of the individual child at heart, and could not possibly, because they have never met them.
For too long the conversation has been hijacked by those who called for ‘hate speech laws’ to silence any dissent on the grounds of harm to transgender youth, without acknowledging that censorship is the death of transparent clinical research, which is needed more than ever. No society that has engaged in silencing dissenting voices has ever been on the right side of history.
Changing Definition of Conversion Therapy
The understanding that most people have of “Conversion therapy” can be summarised with the phrase ‘pray the gay away’. The definition has been not so subtly changed to include that maintaining the sex a child was born with, is now somehow a conversion.
This is an Orwellian way of twisting language that has escaped scrutiny, until now.
Groups that make no distinction between psychological therapy and conversion therapy, without realising that the intent of psychological intervention is not about telling children and younger people who they are, but to work with them and to help them explore their concerns, with the goal to alleviate any distress.
This pathway is recommended in the Cass Review as part of a holistic approach to treat children with gender dysphoria.
Conclusions
The Cass Review did not only revise published papers on gender dysphoria, guidelines were also included in the scope of this Review, such from WPATH, the Endocrinology Society and most importantly The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, which revealed deficiencies in their assessment and diagnosis procedures.
There is no need for more reviews, but actions, it is time to implement the
recommendations of the Cass Report, to go back to a holistic approach where the need of the distressed child will be put first.
Dr. Elizabeth Caballero (retired GP)