It is claimed that controversial sex education being taught in Scottish schools has fuelled an explosion in the numbers of transgender children over the last decade.
Data shows there has been a rapid rise in the number of young people questioning their identity or experiencing gender dysphoria, with 1100 children under 18 waiting for gender change treatment on the NHS in Scotland at the end of 2023.
They included dozens of children aged under 10 and two under five.
Critics claim there is a direct link between the introduction of the Scottish Government’s Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood Education (RSHP) in 2014 – which they say promotes transgender ideology – and the “exponential” rise in the number of trans youngsters.
Scottish Conservative shadow equalities minister, Tess White MSP, said: “It is crucial that children are able to attend school without being exposed to potentially damaging ideology.
“This can be deeply confusing for young people. We must allow children to just be children.”
Ms White added: “The SNP Government must ensure that various organisations including LGBT Youth Scotland are not left to promote their own brand of ideology on our children.”
Dr Jenny Cunningham, of campaign group Scottish Union for Education (SUE), says the Scottish Government’s ‘Cass Review – Implications for Scotland’ report published in July records the rise in referrals to the Sandyford gender service since 2014–2015 but fails to address the essential issue of “why”.
She said: “The report regards the explosion in referrals to the Sandyford gender service… and the subsequent lengthy waiting times for assessments, as simply a question of capacity, reflecting the difficulty retaining and recruiting clinicians for the service.
“There is no attempt to interrogate why this increase in the rate and quantity of referrals occurred. Where did all these children and young people come from – they came out of Scottish schools.”
“This coincided with the Scottish government’s implementation of its Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenting (RSHP) curriculum for pupils of all ages.”
Dr Cunningham added: “RSHP introduced the ideas of gender identities and sexuality early on, and by 9-11 years, the concept of transgender individuals, who believe they are ‘in the wrong body’ and want to be treated as the opposite sex.”
In August 2021, the government issued its “Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools: Guidance for Scottish Schools” which Dr Cunningham says was “essentially a modified LGBT Youth Scotland document full of gender ideology”.
She insists there is “clear evidence” that trans ideology is being taught in Scottish schools despite Public Health Minister Jenni Minto saying in parliament that “children and young people are not taught about their own gender identity in schools”.
Ms Minto had gotten into a spat with SNP MSP Fergus Ewing who had asked her to remove all gender ideology references from teaching about RSHP and remove third party activist groups from schools.
A government spokesperson subsequently stated that “The Supporting Transgender Young People in Schools” guidance does not recommend pupils are encouraged to socially transition and that “any claim otherwise is completely incorrect”.
Dr Cunningham has now hit back, saying “they ought to read the guidance more closely”.
She said: “The guidance advises teachers that they should not question a child or young person’s expressed desire to transition to the opposite sex. That they should allow them to socially transition — including changing their name and using their preferred pronouns, and changing their hair and clothes.
“They are advised that they should avoid ‘deadnaming’ young people — using their previous name — and, what is more, that they should respect the pupils’ right to withhold information about their social transitioning from their parents.”
Dr Cunningham added: “Clearly children and young people will continue to be at great risk from government-sanctioned transgender ideology in Scottish schools.”
She also claims controversial charity LGBT Youth Scotland has the ear of the Scottish Government and has been given access to secondary schools across Scotland to push its contested gender ideology.
She said: “LGBT Youth Scotland is probably the most influential of the various transgender activist organisations which the Scottish Government includes in its various policy making or consultation groups.
“LGBT Youth Scotland has carte blanche to go into Scottish secondary schools to run lunchtime groups and promote its agenda.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “RSHP education has been part of the Scottish curriculum since 2010 and equips young people with the knowledge and understanding of issues like safe, healthy and appropriate relationships and boundaries.”
