Baroness Cass claims children have been ‘weaponised’ in gender debate

‘There are a tiny number of people who will never be comfortable with their biological sex,’ says Baroness Hilary Cass

Baroness Hilary Cass has broadly welcomed proposed schools guidance (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)

Children have been "weaponised" and misled by social media regarding the realities of gender transition, according to the expert who led the review into children’s gender healthcare.

Baroness Hilary Cass, whose comprehensive review of NHS gender care for under-18s prompted significant reforms, including a ban on puberty blockers, welcomed new draft guidance from the Department for Education but acknowledged its inherent limitations.

Speaking on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Baroness Cass stated: "There are a tiny number of people who will never be comfortable with their biological sex, with the gender associated with their biological sex. For them, a medical pathway is the only way they’re going to live their life comfortably. We don’t understand why that is, but we have to try and help those people thrive as much as the young people who are going to grow out of this."

She further cautioned against "unrealistic images and expectations on social media" concerning the true implications of transition, highlighting the involvement of "quite intensive medical treatments" and "sometimes quite brutal surgeries." When questioned about whether children had been let down by the adult-led discourse on gender reassignment, Baroness Cass responded: "Absolutely… (they) were also caught up in all the issues about single-sex spaces and sports and safe areas for women which were actually not to do with the children but they were somehow part of a football within it. That’s a real shame that children have been weaponised."

The Cass Review led to major changes, including a ban on puberty blockers (PA Archive)

Addressing the increasing number of children experiencing gender dysphoria, Baroness Cass attributed the rise to both social media and prevailing gender stereotypes. "I think what has kind of misled children is the belief that if you are not a typical girl, if you like playing with trucks, or boys who like dressing up or that you have same-sex attraction, that means that you’re trans and actually it’s not like that but those are all normal variations," she explained. "I think children and young people were being given a narrative that it’s not ok to be anything but absolutely typical of the other girls on Instagram."

The proposed guidance, published late last week, advises schools to avoid "rigid rules based on gender stereotypes" and to dedicate time to understanding children’s feelings, while remaining mindful of "potential vulnerabilities" such as bullying or the need for mental health support. Should a child or their parent request social transition, schools are instructed to adopt a "careful approach," engaging in discussions with families and considering any clinical advice received. The guidance stresses the importance of seeking parents’ views, noting that only "rare circumstances where involving parents or carers would constitute a greater risk to the child than not involving them" would justify their exclusion.

Baroness Cass told the Press Association earlier in the week: "When I was doing my (NHS) review, the default seemed to be to not contact parents, whereas this (guidance) is saying that you should contact parents unless you really think there’s a significant risk to the child if you do so. So it has turned it completely the other way around. So I think there’ll be much less risk of the sorts of things that I was hearing of children being socially transitioned without their parents knowing as a routine."

These updates, now open for a 10-week consultation period, follow the 2024 Cass Review and last year’s Supreme Court ruling on biological sex.