Latest news with #HilaryCass
Western Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Generation will be lost to poor mental health without safeguards on tech
Baroness Hilary Cass said the impact of smart devices on children's sleep, attention span, and education is 'not just a moral problem but an economic timebomb'. The independent crossbencher called for teachers to receive dedicated training on the issue, in addition to education for parents, as peers debated the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Independent crossbencher Lady Cass (Yui Mok/PA) Then-Dr Hilary Cass previously led a landmark review into gender services for young people, which found children had been let down by a lack of research and evidence on the use of puberty blockers and hormones. Speaking during the Bill's second reading debate on Thursday, she told the Lords: 'Any legislation addressing the subject of safeguarding children, and opportunity, and safety in schools, cannot possibly ignore the impact of digital technology on the lives of children and young people.' Lady Cass argued it's not just 'deliberate harm', such as cyber bullying, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and grooming that children are at risk of. 'That's just the tip of the iceberg, there are multiple other risks associated with digital technology that have been discussed in this House, including adverse affects of learning, attention, sleep, educational attainment and mental health. 'And addictive apps are particularly a problem, especially for boys,' she said. We are looking at losing a generation to poor mental health and to even more young adults being unable to contribute to the workforce Lady Cass Lady Cass continued: 'This is not just an issue of whether we ban smartphones in schools, there's a wide array of possible actions that can be part of a strategic, multi-faceted approach to the problem. 'For example, RSE (relationships and sex education) is compulsory in schools, and yet there is no requirement to teach young people how to manage the digital technology that occupies so many hours of their lives. 'Nor indeed to include appropriate training for the staff that are teaching our infants or older children. 'There's insufficient consideration of the impact of loss of safe place spaces, which would give children alternative recreational activities to spending time on their digital devices. 'There's no focus on providing education and advice to parents on how to manage access to technology so that they can facilitate their children's learning and development. 'So I very much hope that the Government will be receptive to a range of amendments that will address these deficits in the Bill, and thus gift our children with a safer, healthier future. 'Without such measures we are looking at losing a generation to poor mental health and to even more young adults being unable to contribute to the workforce. 'So this is not just a moral problem, but an economic timebomb that we can ill afford.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Generation will be lost to poor mental health without safeguards on tech
A generation of young people will be lost to poor mental health if safeguards on digital technology are not brought forward, a top paediatrician has warned. Baroness Hilary Cass said the impact of smart devices on children's sleep, attention span, and education is 'not just a moral problem but an economic timebomb'. The independent crossbencher called for teachers to receive dedicated training on the issue, in addition to education for parents, as peers debated the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Then-Dr Hilary Cass previously led a landmark review into gender services for young people, which found children had been let down by a lack of research and evidence on the use of puberty blockers and hormones. Speaking during the Bill's second reading debate on Thursday, she told the Lords: 'Any legislation addressing the subject of safeguarding children, and opportunity, and safety in schools, cannot possibly ignore the impact of digital technology on the lives of children and young people.' Lady Cass argued it's not just 'deliberate harm', such as cyber bullying, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and grooming that children are at risk of. 'That's just the tip of the iceberg, there are multiple other risks associated with digital technology that have been discussed in this House, including adverse affects of learning, attention, sleep, educational attainment and mental health. 'And addictive apps are particularly a problem, especially for boys,' she said. Lady Cass continued: 'This is not just an issue of whether we ban smartphones in schools, there's a wide array of possible actions that can be part of a strategic, multi-faceted approach to the problem. 'For example, RSE (relationships and sex education) is compulsory in schools, and yet there is no requirement to teach young people how to manage the digital technology that occupies so many hours of their lives. 'Nor indeed to include appropriate training for the staff that are teaching our infants or older children. 'There's insufficient consideration of the impact of loss of safe place spaces, which would give children alternative recreational activities to spending time on their digital devices. 'There's no focus on providing education and advice to parents on how to manage access to technology so that they can facilitate their children's learning and development. 'So I very much hope that the Government will be receptive to a range of amendments that will address these deficits in the Bill, and thus gift our children with a safer, healthier future. 'Without such measures we are looking at losing a generation to poor mental health and to even more young adults being unable to contribute to the workforce. 'So this is not just a moral problem, but an economic timebomb that we can ill afford.'
The Independent
01-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Generation will be lost to poor mental health without safeguards on tech
A generation of young people will be lost to poor mental health if safeguards on digital technology are not brought forward, a top paediatrician has warned. Baroness Hilary Cass said the impact of smart devices on children's sleep, attention span, and education is 'not just a moral problem but an economic timebomb'. The independent crossbencher called for teachers to receive dedicated training on the issue, in addition to education for parents, as peers debated the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Then-Dr Hilary Cass previously led a landmark review into gender services for young people, which found children had been let down by a lack of research and evidence on the use of puberty blockers and hormones. Speaking during the Bill's second reading debate on Thursday, she told the Lords: 'Any legislation addressing the subject of safeguarding children, and opportunity, and safety in schools, cannot possibly ignore the impact of digital technology on the lives of children and young people.' Lady Cass argued it's not just 'deliberate harm', such as cyber bullying, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and grooming that children are at risk of. 'That's just the tip of the iceberg, there are multiple other risks associated with digital technology that have been discussed in this House, including adverse affects of learning, attention, sleep, educational attainment and mental health. 'And addictive apps are particularly a problem, especially for boys,' she said. Lady Cass continued: 'This is not just an issue of whether we ban smartphones in schools, there's a wide array of possible actions that can be part of a strategic, multi-faceted approach to the problem. 'For example, RSE (relationships and sex education) is compulsory in schools, and yet there is no requirement to teach young people how to manage the digital technology that occupies so many hours of their lives. 'Nor indeed to include appropriate training for the staff that are teaching our infants or older children. 'There's insufficient consideration of the impact of loss of safe place spaces, which would give children alternative recreational activities to spending time on their digital devices. 'There's no focus on providing education and advice to parents on how to manage access to technology so that they can facilitate their children's learning and development. 'So I very much hope that the Government will be receptive to a range of amendments that will address these deficits in the Bill, and thus gift our children with a safer, healthier future. 'Without such measures we are looking at losing a generation to poor mental health and to even more young adults being unable to contribute to the workforce. 'So this is not just a moral problem, but an economic timebomb that we can ill afford.'
Economist
30-04-2025
- Health
- Economist
A landmark study of gender medicine is caught in an ethics row
ONE REASON that transgender medicine is such a fraught topic is that there is little evidence behind the arguments. When Hilary Cass, a British paediatrician, reviewed the field for an influential report published in 2024, she noted that most of the science underlying the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to teenagers (an approach called 'gender-affirming care') was 'remarkably weak'.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Lush puts transgender 'propaganda' leaflets in birthday party bags for girls as young as seven - claiming there is a global conspiracy against trans people
Lush Cosmetics placed a leaflet in party bags gifted to children as young as seven and eight, which claimed there was a global conspiracy against trans people. Young girls received the leaflet as they left a birthday celebration event for one of the stores branches, where they also created bath bombs and soaps. The 24-page booklet, which was created in collaboration with TransActual, claimed those in the transgender community had been made 'the target of a calculated media assault' in a bid to divert attention from 'global crises'. It also went on to claim the media landscape was 'encouraging violence' and diverting attention 'from those nicely off' while others struggled, adding that lives had been 'devastated' by a 'tidal wave of hate'. The leaftet, which was created by the charity TransActual and produced by Lush Costmetics 'in solidarity and allyship with trans people everywhere' also outlined terms used by the community. It explained that while some people may describe themselves as trans, others use terms as gender-queer, gender-fluid, nongender, third gender, bi-gender, as well as trans woman, trans man and neutrois. The document said that these were descriptions and 'not prescriptions', explaining the term intersectionality, adding: 'It just means we are all subject to multiple forms of inquality or disadvantage (or privilege and advantage).' A mother, who was present at the party dubbed the leaflet as 'fully propaganda in tone', while also debating if it was entirely appropriate for children of such a young age. 'I feel fairly "live and let live" about what people over 18 want to do but to put this in bags going home with seven-year-old girls seems really shocking to me,' she told The Times. 'Pretty sure nobody is handing these out to little boys at football parties.' The booklet also went on to compared the present Day US to Nazi Germany, saying how the regime led by Adolf Hitler, 'destroyed the world's first gender clinic', sent transgender individuals to concentration camps and set alight to books. It said there were 'echoes' in the US of Germany's difficult past as trans individuals have 'their passports confiscated, birth certificates torn up, history erased, healthcare banned and legal protections removed.' Around 20,000 leaflets were printed and shared across over 100 branches across the UK. A 'Liberation' bath bomb, which shared the same colours as the trans flag, also came with the leaflet, with 75 per cent of profits being donated to three campaign groups, which includes TransActual and My Genderation. On its website, Lush stated that trans people have 'come under increasing attacks in certain political and cultural spheres'. It comes after Supreme Court unanimously decided that 'the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act refer to a 'biological woman and biological sex'. The booklet says the Cass Review, a review led by Dr Hilary Cass on gender identity services for young people in children 'set a standard of proof' which is distinctive to trans healthcare. It also criticised the ban on puberty blockers, claiming there were 'no major side-effects', despite the Cass Review stating that evidence indicated puberty blockers could affect bone density in teenagers. Lush told The Times: 'The booklet was designed to be displayed in stores next to signage about the campaign and at till points, for people to take if they wished. 'It should not have been put directly into bags without being asked for and we have issued guidance to our staff to ensure that does not happen again.' It also said that any queries regarding the leaflet's content should be put to TransActual.
