A growing number of Scottish children have come out as transgender or non-binary, and an agency for these youths has recommended that they be granted the ability to consent to life-altering procedures.
Scotland’s social care watchdog has informed organizations responsible for the country’s most vulnerable youth that children as young as 12 can consent to trans-affirming “care.”
The Care Inspectorate’s recommendations to agencies responsible for children have been criticized by experts as being at odds with new findings warning against an overly “affirming” stance toward transgender youngsters who come out to their caregivers.
The new policy mandated that employees use the youths’ preferred names and pronouns and gave the option of referring them to the Sandyford clinic, a contentious gender facility that has drawn comparisons between its practices and those of the notorious Tavistock Clinic in London.
The 22-page guidelines cite contentious publications by the SNP administration and pro-trans groups, including Stonewall and LGBT Youth Scotland.
Cass Review, a preliminary report on gender identity services in England, found insufficient evidence to promote puberty blockers and that there were dangers associated with promoting “social transition” among young people.
Tavistock whistleblower and consultant psychiatrist David Bell claimed the report indicated a “significant failure of safeguarding” on the part of the watchdog.
“There is now considerable evidence that affirming children is harmful, and this guidance seems to ignore all the emerging medical evidence,” Dr. Bell added.
Dr. Hilary Cass, an esteemed pediatrician, will publish an impartial assessment of the best practices for youth gender identity services before the end of the year.
Children as young as nine have been referred for puberty blockers, and children as young as sixteen have been “referred for assessment” for permanent procedures such as mastectomies.
“We have a duty to support services to ensure high-quality care for all children and young people experiencing care,” the Care Inspectorate said in a statement.
