Happy Groundhog Day!

It is over a year since we drew up a challenge to the Scottish Government to change its policies and pay heed to the issues laid out by the Cass Report. We said then: 'It is clear that our health, education, and social services should remove gender affirming and social transition policies from all institutions with immediate effect. For the sake of the emotional wellbeing not only of all our children, but also of staff, the concept that any individual can change sex should be removed from all aspects of our public institutions.’

We previously submitted a petition, requested information that was not forthcoming, asked for meetings with key politicians which never happened, and sent numerous statements of our grave concern over the handling of gender ideology in all our key institutions. None of our concerns were taken seriously and we now find ourselves, yet again, back in Groundhog Day. We now ask:

• What will it take for the Scottish Government to change and to attend to the safeguarding requirements for children, their families and all our public services?

  
  

• What will it take for the Scottish Government to follow the 2025 Supreme Court ruling and obey the law?

  
  

• To whose message will the Scottish Government actually listen?

  
  

• And what can we do collectively to bring about 'The Day After Groundhog Day'?

  
  

  Here is what we have been demanding for the last 3 years:

The Scottish Government (SG) Report, ’Cass Implications for Scotland’ was published on the 5th July 2024 in response to the Cass Review’s (CR) recommendations, published on the 10th April 2024. The CR and its Scottish response both state that it is essential to take a holistic approach towards supporting gender questioning children. The evidence from countries affected is that the source of the huge increase in gender questioning children stems from the known phenomenon of social contagion, media influence and “product placement” of the adult term ‘transgender’ within schools and nearly all other establishments. Based on robust international research and the evidence provided by Cass who stated in her report that ‘social transition is not a neutral act', it is clear that our health, education, and social services should remove gender affirming and social transition policies from all institutions with immediate effect.

For the sake of the emotional wellbeing not only of all our children, but also of staff, the concept that any individual can change sex should be removed from all aspects of our public institutions.The Scottish Government along with those responsible for running and overseeing our public institutions, should recognise the embedded nature of gender ideology as a public health emergency affecting the safeguarding of all children and families which to a significant extent, they have helped to create. 

Our Challenge to the Scottish Government​ 

1.  All guidance in public services endorsing gender ideology must  be removed with                 immediate effect 

2.  Gender ideology messaging must be removed from all public institutions e.g. from                school curricula, health communications and notices, social work language 

3.  Gender ideology must be removed from educational materials and from all       

  professionals’ social work, education and health training courses

4.  Third sector organisations lacking the knowledge base, specific training, and                        professional skills to assess mental health conditions, must not be providing input to              our schools, nor promoting gender ideology in any of our public services

5.  Evidence-based, systemic reviews must be recognised as the sole basis for 

  interventions in the provision of public services

6.  The concept of ‘trans’ must be recognised as using regressive stereotypes for 

      identification and is arguably homophobic

First published in July 2024

J Campbell, ScotPAG Administrator