The week that sent trans fanatics into retreat

Aftershocks can occur days or even weeks after an earthquake. So it is, it seems, with the Cass Review.

Five months on from the “Big Bang” moment in April when Dr Hilary Cass’s findings reset the terms of the trans rights debate, some of the most significant reverberations were felt this week.

Cass’s report warned of a “toxic” debate in which parents felt forced to allow their children to change gender, fearing they would otherwise be labelled transphobic. At the time, the findings by Cass, a leading paediatrician, were roundly criticised by trans activists. But now the narrative is changing.

In the space of just a few days it was revealed that the campaigning charity Stonewall – which has long been in the vanguard of trans activism – is ending its controversial training programme for schools. Then, the SNP health minister told the Scottish parliament that the Government had accepted Cass’s review and would implement its recommendations. The Good Law Project campaign group also announced it would no longer take trans-related legal cases following high-profile defeats. All this a couple of weeks after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, decided to uphold the emergency ban on privately accessed puberty blockers for anyone under 18, against vociferous opposition from fellow Labour MPs.

“On the whole, the trajectory seems to be in a sensible direction and the Labour Party moving this way too is huge,” says gender critical philosopher and writer Kathleen Stock. “Even for those sympathetic to the ideas of trans activists it is hard to oppose the Cass Review.”

All in all, it’s been a week of retreat for the trans lobby, which made significant inroads into institutions across education, health, charities and corporations over the past few decades, and a triumphant week for those who campaign against its doctrine. “It feels like the grown-ups are back in the room,” says Maya Forstater, CEO of human rights charity Sex Matters.

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