Trans in the City Statement - Cass Report

We have taken time to digest the Cass Report released earlier this week, which concerns the provision (or lack of it) of timely, evidence-based and effective healthcare to Transgender children and young people.

As a Trans-led business organisation with directors from a diverse range of backgrounds (including in healthcare and data analytics), we take the view that there were significant methodological flaws in the approach to the review, such as:

• A lack of Trans and Non-Binary representation – and indeed the active exclusion of such voices.

• The abandonment of a significant number of internationally peer-reviewed studies based on perceived bias and an unachievable standard – one not applied to any other type of healthcare.

• Concerning tropes relating to the validity of Transgender people as having agency and humanity.

As an organisation deeply invested in elevating the voices of Trans and Non-Binary people in business, we welcome the recognition that Trans healthcare within the NHS in the UK is not fit for purpose. However, we lament the implications of this, which have been seized upon and twisted by Trans-hostile media and political figures. 

We reiterate our call to businesses to review how they can help fill the void that has existed for so long by the provision of trans-inclusive medical policies and the provision of mental health support for those impacted by the disruption to healthcare – including family members supporting young people. Politicising young people at the expense of empathy, research and medical ethics is deplorable. 

Trans people exist worldwide, and the UK is becoming even more of an outlier in terms of sound quality care. The impact on Trans people and those who care for them adds a further burden of stress and anxiety in more broadly uncertain times. It is our job as a community of Trans and Non-Binary people and our Allies to step up and provide practical support, and a voice of reason.