Social workers accused of teaching ‘trans ideology as fact’ to vulnerable children

Trans activists

Social workers have been accused of teaching “trans ideology as fact” to vulnerable children.

Guidance for social workers, seen by The Telegraph, suggests asking vulnerable children as young as 13 whether they are transgender and what their “gender identity” is.

The guidance, for social workers dealing with children in the family courts, suggests asking children 13 and above: “Your parents have told me that you are a girl/boy, is that what you think too?”. Other questions suggested include asking about children’s “sexuality”, “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”.

The concept of transgender children is disputed by some.

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, a campaign group for women’s rights, told The Telegraph: “This official guidance for social workers on ‘transgender children’ is dangerous and unscientific.

“It ignores the growing evidence of social contagion, abuse and mental health issues as factors in the growing number of vulnerable children questioning their gender identity. At-risk children will be further harmed by official advice that social workers teach and present trans ideology as fact.

“No government document should signpost anyone to the controversial charity Mermaids, or dismiss parents as bigots if they reject the extreme medicalised approach of gender clinics in favour of supportive, open-ended therapy that explores all their child’s issues.

“There is no such thing as a ‘transgender child’: Dr Hilary Cass, who is investigating the huge increase in the number of children suffering gender distress or confusion does not use the term, since most such distress and confusion is temporary.

“This guidance needs to be scrapped and rewritten to be compatible with the findings of the Cass Review.”

‘Cafcass has become overly influenced’

The guidance comes from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), an independent body under the Ministry of Justice. Cafcass practitioners act as social workers representing children in family disputes in the courts.

A Cafcass source said: “We work with some of the most vulnerable children in society – those experiencing abuse, neglect and parental conflict. Asking these children whether they are trans or about their sexuality is inappropriate and could be considered grooming. Cafcass has become overly influenced by transgender activists and this is having a harmful impact on children who we are meant to protect, not push transgender ideology on.”

Cafcass has issued several documents for staff on the topic of transgender children, including one called “Knowledge Bite”, published in June 2021, which “is specifically about talking to children and young people about their own diversity”.

In a section on “Talking to young people about sexuality and gender identity” the guidance says: “In a small minority of cases, a parent may expressly forbid us to talk to their young person about an aspect of their diversity, in which case a professional judgment would need to be made about whether it would be necessary/proportionate to ask the court to direct that we are able to discuss all issues with the child.”

The document continues: “When working with young people aged 13 upwards, practitioners should ask the young person about their sexuality and gender identity or record a defensible decision if they decide not to ask a young person over this age about these aspects of their identity. If younger children raise with us the issue of their sexuality or gender identity during general discussions about diversity, then we should explore it in the same way as below.”

Social workers are told to “consider sharing your pronouns at the start” of their conversation with children and are referred to the controversial trans charity Mermaids.

‘No child is born in the wrong body’

On Dec 6, Kemi Badenoch, the Minister for Women and Equalities, warned of an “epidemic” of young gay children being told that they are transgender.

She told the House of Commons: “No child is born in the wrong body and no child should be put on a pathway towards irreversible medical transition.”

Ms Badenoch said new rules were being drawn up that would ban primary school pupils from changing their gender identity, for example by changing their name or pronouns, without medical advice.

“Except in the most extreme safeguarding cases – and I expect that to include clinical advice – we should not be socially transitioning any primary school children at all or introducing them to this belief,” she said.

The Government would force schools to inform parents if their child seeks to socially transition except in rare cases.

Ms Badenoch said: “We should not treat parents as the enemy here, they need to know what is going on.”

Another Cafcass document, published in 2022, entitled “Guidance working with children and gender identity” claims: “Any suggestion that some children state they are transgender for attention, because they have been influenced by social media or others such as parents is wrong and simply a manifestation of societal lack of understanding and education as well as possible conscious/unconscious bias.”

The guidance says that while a “majority of parents” will offer support when “they discover their child is transgender”, others “may react less positively at first because they have inaccurate or incomplete information, or because they are worried about what it will mean for their child and their future life path”.

The document continues: “Some parents simply do not accept that transgender people exist and carry prejudice and bigotry that they project onto their child. In that dynamic, the child cannot be themselves and may become homeless or be abused by the parent or other family members and child protection issues arise.

“Practitioners can support parents in permitting their children explore their gender identity at any age. Where a child is being suppressed or denied this, it should be assessed in safeguarding terms and whether the exercise of parental responsibility is being used in the best interest of the child. Parental responsibility does not permit abuse of the child in any form.”

Gids referrals have dramatically increased

According to a study commissioned by NHS England, the number of referrals of young people to the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids), a service for those wishing to change their gender, has dramatically increased in recent years.

The research found in the year 2011/12 that there were just under 250 referrals to Gids, compared with over 5,000 in the year 2021/22.

In 2022 the Evidence Based Social Work Alliance, a gender critical group, raised a formal complaint with Cafcass raising concerns about the guidance offered on trans children. Cafcass did not revise the documents following the criticism.

“The practitioner guidance and knowledge bite to which you refer were written in consultation with the Family Justice Young People’s Board to make sure we took into consideration the challenges that young people currently face and especially to understand these from their perspective.

“We recognise the importance of not making assumptions when working with young people who may be exploring or questioning their gender identity; the young person is the best person to tell us what is going on for them. In our assessments and reports to the family court, we will always reflect the wishes, feelings and experiences of children and how we have considered these in relation to our recommendations.

“What we discuss with children and young people will inevitably include highly sensitive and personal experiences, so the timing, place and who is present when we have these conversations are all important considerations to ensure the young person feels supported and not put under any pressure.”

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