Monday 15-04-2024 - 15:31

 

 

As a Union we strongly believe our Trans students deserve access to timely and quality care. The current state of trans healthcare, mixed with other factors such as the cost of living, is creating a barrier which we seek to tackle.  

 

 

Earlier this year, your Vice-President Welfare, Josh submitted a Gender Expression Fund proposal to the University’s Cost of Living Fund which was not accepted.  

However, because this is an initiative we firmly believe in, your VP Welfare and LUSU Staff have worked hard to create a new Gender Expression Fund, financed by the Students’ Union which will support our Trans students in accessing care and gender affirming items such as clothing.  

“Now more than ever, our trans friends need our active allyship. The LGBTQ+ movement is inherently political and given the environment and culture we live in today, needs constant and consistent activism. We demand better for trans youth within education and healthcare. The lack of support for these communities is distressing and the use of the rights of our trans friends in this culture war is unjust. They deserve to be met with dignity and respect. The government must make significant investments into infrastructure that properly supports trans people.”

“...I am so pleased that despite the University not funding our Gender Expression Fund project, we were able to fund this through the Union - helping remove cost as a barrier to trans support.”  

"A lot happened in the news last week that is having a wide impact on the LGBTQ+ community which is important for us to collectively understand, discuss, and campaign on as a wider Union” - Josh Newsham, Vice-President Welfare  

 

What is the Cass Report?

The Cass Review was commissioned in 2020 on gender-affirming care for trans people in England following a notable rise in referrals.  

We note 98% of studies on trans health were rejected from being included in this review despite them being reputable and peer reviewed. We believe this shows the fundamental flaws in the meta-analysis, invalidates the findings of this report, and creates a clear bias against trans people, something which has been called out by other international psychological and healthcare organisations.  

The review was published earlier this week with a list of recommendations, the most concerning being that people under 25 should not have access to crucial gender affirming care, puberty blockers.  

This report, while having some helpful and constructive recommendations for trans healthcare, highlights a wider issue - a complete lack of infrastructure and funding to have quality support for the trans community.  

The report is also being used by politicians and certain organisations to advocate for what we believe is a dangerous systemic rollback in trans care.  

The government needs to make significant investments into the National Health Service and the wider care infrastructure to create a supportive environment.  

 

Government Attitudes towards conversion therapy

Conversion therapy is a widely condemned practice which is defined as the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms.  

The government is understood to have ditched its commitment to banning conversion therapy, despite it being promised by 3 Prime Ministers and receiving cross-party support. 7% of LGBT people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy, which can leave people traumatised and with long term mental health impacts. We believe all LGBTQ+ Conversion therapy should be banned.  

“All of this shows the hate and prejudice LGBTQ+ people, specifically trans people, have to face on a daily basis. The culture war against trans people was never about ‘protecting children’ as is often claimed, but at demonising non-cisgender people. Both the Labour and Conservative party have supported the recommendations of the Cass Review, and we believe this will make the world more dangerous for trans people. But the LGBTQ+ Forum and Students’ Union at Lancaster will always stand up for queer people. You are not alone, and we will always stand by you.” - Thomas Cross, LGBTQ+ Students Officer