DA's Western Cape Health Department embraces far left American gender ideology

By Staff Reporter

The Western Cape Government (WCG), which has been run by the Democratic Alliance since 2009, recently distributed a circular to all of its directors and CEOs of health services under the Department of Health and Wellness. The circular titled ‘Evidence-Based Care for Transgender and Gender-Diverse People (ETGDP) position statement‘ details the Government’s support of LGBTQIA+ individuals and how healthcare institutions should amend services and change behaviour in order to reflect this. The document is notably absent from any WCG website although it was approved by the OPEXCO, the top operational management committee of the Health Department.

In typical Neo-Marxist fashion the document claims to be recognising “varied identities and lived experiences” of “transgender and gender diverse” people. The introduction speaks repeatedly and positively to the concept of “universal health coverage” which is terminology interchangeably used by the Department of Health in advocating for the National Health Insurance (NHI).

The position statement is notably focused on the concept of “affirming gender identity” while bemoaning the binary nature of male and female sex in health systems. There is no discussion as to the wisdom of gender affirmation despite a growing body of evidence, including the globally accepted Cass Review, showing that this may not be a healthy or safe path for individuals or society at large to follow. Then as if lacking any self awareness the authors lump the concept of violence against the transgender community with that of GBV, a sub category of violence directed at women and girls.

At several times the circular devolves directly into ascientific nonsense such as the “Genderbread person”, a patently ridiculous gender cartoon worryingly aimed at children, which was drawn by a comedian turned social activist in 2012.

Then there is the ‘Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Universe’, a map of imaginary galaxies published by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, in which male and female are small and mundane planets circling the sun of '“assigned at birth” while colourful gender indentities gather as celestial bodies around their own separate suns.

However perhaps of greatest concern are the recommendations and a new standard operating procedure which will enforce how tax funds are used to ensure that gender ideology is adopted within State institutions and ultimately within all healthcare (NHI) facilities. These include but are not limited to;

• insisting that gender not be pathologised despite the fact that gender dysphoria is a well defined medical condition as per the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5

• creating a pathway to gender affirming care including hormone blockers and surgery which does not appear to be age limited in any way

• redesigning documentation and data capturing systems to provide more gender options for patients

• enforcing the use of “correct personal pronouns”

• allowing “transgender or non conforming individuals to use the restrooms that align with their gender ideology” i.e. males in female bathrooms and vice versa [editor: the term restroom being proof that this was copied straight from American policy]

• instilling a workplace culture in which colleagues should correct each other “politely but firmly'“ if incorrect names or pronouns are used

It remains unclear, and certainly unexplained by the party itself, why where the DA governs it continues to push gender ideology despite their own Chairperson, Helen Zille, having published a book called ‘Stay Woke Go Broke’.

The full circular and position statement as well as the annexure SOP released by the Western Cape Government Health and Wellness Department is available for download here:

Circular Evidence Based Care For Transgender And Gender Diverse People (etgdp) Position Statement 26 August 2024

4.72MB ∙ PDF file

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