Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG) is an anti-transgender front group. It is part of an anti-trans web farm of similar sites. YouTube designates their videos as “conversion therapy content.”
Background
CAN-SG was incorporated on June 14, 2023.
Officers
- Az Hakeem
- Marie Louise Irvine
- Robert Withers
- Stella O’Malley (appointed 14 June 2023, resigned 6 July 2023)
Members include
- David Bell
- Richard Byng
- Katie Clyde
- Lenny Cornwall
- Sara Dahlen
- Angela Dixon
- Lucy Griffin
- Az Hakeem
- Pat Harvey
- Louise Irvine
- Tessa Katz
- Julie Maxwell
- Elaine Miller
- Madeleine Ní Dhálaigh
- Stella O’Malley
- David Pilgrim
Contributors cited include
- Az Hakeem
- David Bell
- Bob Withers
- Sallie Baxendale
- “two GPs and two psychiatrists”
2023 Guardian letter
Following a 2023 Department for Education draft guidance regarding gender questioning children, CAN-SG members expressed conditional support for the draft. Signatories were:
- Az Hakeem, consultant psychiatrist
- Sinead Helyar, nurse
- Louise Irvine, GP
- Tessa Katz, GP
- Stella Kingett, consultant psychiatrist
- Jane Martin, psychiatrist (retired)
- Aileen O’Brien, consultant psychiatrist
- Stella O’Malley, psychotherapist
- Juliet Singer, consultant child psychiatrist
- Bob Withers, psychoanalyst
2024 conference
In March 2024, CAN-SG held a conference in London called “Do No Harm.” It featured many key opponents of healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth.
The event was held at 30 Euston Square, the headquarters of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). Following protests from members and the public, RGCP requested that CAN-SG remove all references that suggested RCGP were involved or endorsed the event, which was reportedly booked by Searcys, the venue’s event manager.
RCGP leaders stated:
The RCGP is one of 20 health organisations that have signed a memorandum of understanding opposing conversion therapy, so we were very vocal opponents of the Government’s proposal to ban the practice for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in England and Wales but not for trans people. When the document was updated to include gender identity, we worked with other signatories to ensure the memorandum was clear that being opposed to conversion therapy did not mean opposing appropriate clinical and psychological interventions for trans and gender-questioning people and that it is entirely possible to deliver a ban on conversion therapy that protects all LGBTQ+ people.
RCGP (2024) [emphasis mine]
Three pro-trans protesters were arrested for actions outside the venue.
Promoted organizers, speakers, and panelists:
- Stella Kingett
- Louise Irvine
- Baroness Dianne Hayter
- Riittakerttu Kaltiala
- Hannah Ryan
- Michael Biggs
- Susan Bewley
- Richard Byng
- Margaret McCartney
- Anna Hutchinson
- Sonia Appleby
- Jane Martin
- Rachel Cashman
- Ritchie Herron
- Stella O’Malley
- Az Hakeem
References
Hawthorne, Kamila; Holmes, Mike; Thomas, Mark (February 14, 2024). Statement from Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of Council, Professor Mike Holmes, Chair of Trustees, and Mark Thomas, Acting Chief Executive Officer re: CAN-SG conference. https://www.rcgp.org.uk/News/can-sg-conference-statement
Parr, Eliza (February 12, 2024). RCGP under pressure to cancel ‘gender critical’ conference. Pulse https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinical-areas/mental-health-and-addiction/rcgp-under-pressure-to-cancel-gender-critical-conference/
CAN-SG (December 31, 2023). Letter: Parents must hold schools to account on gender. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/commentisfree/2023/dec/31/parents-must-hold-schools-to-account-on-gender-observer-letters
Resources
Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (can-sg.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
- Clinical Advisory Network on Sex & Gender
- youtube.com/channel/UCrN-zO9uXdpFth7xMKIZ3ug
- Marked by YouTube as “conversion therapy content”
Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk)
- Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14935232/