The Cass Review; Our Response
In April, the NHS England released the Cass review, which has caused a bit of a stir in parliaments around Australia as LGBTIQA+ communities continue to fight for the wellbeing of trans and gender diverse children.
We know that some South Australian parliamentarians have also commented on it, and we wrote to the Minister for Health with our response, to the review which you can read here.
The reality is that the Cass review has little relevance in the Australian context and we note the words of Dr Portia Predny, Vice President of The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH), “The Cass review recommendations are at odds with the current evidence base, expert consensus and the majority of clinical guidelines around the world.”
Dr Predny said applying the findings and recommendations of the Cass Review to the care of young people in Australia “was fundamentally flawed” because it looked specifically at the NHS system.
“The way that gender affirming care is accessed and provided in Australia is substantially different to the way that that care is or has been provided in the NHS,” she said.
Sadly, we know from experience that evidence, even when peer reviewed and overwhelming, is often not enough to persuade people to respect their fellow human beings. We also know that this will probably not be the last time we have to have these discussions publicly.
We will continue to stand in solidarity with our Trans and Gender Diverse family in South Australia and beyond.
Harmful SA parliamentary inquiry withdrawn!
Independent MLC Frank Pangallo has officially withdrawn his motion proposing a Parliamentary inquiry into gender affirming care!
Thanks to the SA Labor Party, the SA Greens and Michelle Lensink MLC who publicly committed to voting down the inquiry, the motion lacks the numbers to pass the Legislative Council.
We thank all MLCs who trusted the medical experts and listened to the voices of trans and gender diverse South Australians.
Most importantly, this wouldn’t have happened without the members of our community who stood up for what matters!
Since the motion was first announced in November, over 1,200 South Australians signed our petition calling out the unnecessary dangers of this inquiry.
Your support provided us with a platform to amplify trans and gender diverse voices, the very people who are impacted most by this debate, through mainstream media.
While we know this isn’t the last of debates like this, we’re proud to see our community come together to protect trans kids and we’re committed to continuing to stand up for an inclusive, healthy and safe South Australia.
Thank you for all you do.
We need life saving gender affirming care to be accessible for all trans and gender diverse South Australians.
Everyone deserves to be supported to live as their authentic and best self.
For trans and gender diverse people this often means getting help from health professionals to medically affirm who they are, for example through hormones, affirming therapy and other supports.
While health and medical professional currently provides safe quality care in line with evidence based Stanadards of Care, trans and gender diverse South Australians face continued politicisation of their healthcare.
We need our political leaders to make gender affirming healthcare accessible for trans and gender diverse South Australians who need it.
What’s happened on this issue?
Our communities have advocated for many years for the South Australian Government to improve gender affirming health services for trans and gender diverse people across our State. Check out the below timeline of key events.
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7 February 2024
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Feb 6, 2024
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15 November 2023
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Sep 1, 2023
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Jun 1, 2022
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Mar 8, 2022
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Sep 1, 2021
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Jul 1, 2021
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May 1, 2021
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Feb 6, 2024
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May 23, 2020
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