Bath Spa University is conducting an internal inquiry into claims that it turned down an application for research on gender reassignment reversal because it was “potentially politically incorrect” and would attract criticism on social media.

James Caspian, a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender people, proposed the research about “detransitioning” to the university in south-west England, which, he said, initially approved the application.

When he went back with his preliminary findings that suggested growing numbers of young people, particularly women, were regretting gender reassignment, Bath Spa said his proposal would have to be resubmitted to the ethics committee, which rejected it.

Caspian, who enrolled on an MA course at the university, said he was “astonished” by the decision and had sought legal advice.

“The fundamental reason given was that it might cause criticism of the research on social media, and criticism of the research would be criticism of the university. They also added it’s better not to offend people,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday.

“A university exists to encourage discussion, research, dissent even, challenging ideas that are out of date or not particularly useful.”

According to Caspian, the university said: “Engaging in a potentially politically incorrect piece of research carries a risk to the university. Attacks on social media may not be confined to the researcher, but may involve the university.



“The posting of unpleasant material on blogs or social media may be detrimental to the reputation of the university.”

A spokeswoman for Bath Spa said the university could not comment because of a continuing investigation into the matter, which was first reported in the Times.

The US transgender activist Riki Wilchins told Today there had been a strong political undercurrent in previous studies, which had been used to restrict transgender people’s access to surgery.



“So when I see one more study that aims to show transgender people really don’t need this or want this, or they are just deluded or suffering from some other kind of psychopathology, I look at it a little bit warily … The problem is not the study itself, it’s the uses to which that study is put,” she said.

Wilchins said a “very small fraction” of people decide to detransition. “I’m not trying to say it’s not a fraught experience for them, or that it should not be studied. But it’s not the first place I would put my money if I wanted to study the problems afflicting transgender people,” she said.

Caspian said he understood concerns in the transgender community. “I’ve worked for many years with people who have transitioned their gender and I think that when people feel marginalised and vulnerable to criticism, they are very sensitive to anything they may perceive as that, and feel afraid,” he said.



“The idea we might use the information from the research that I was going to do in a way that would not help people is completely wrong. The research is necessary to really help people.”



Caspian is a trustee of the Beaumont Trust, a charity that provides education about and support to transgender, transsexual and cross-dressing people. He said he was first alerted to the issue of gender reassignment reversal in 2014, when a Belgrade doctor told him he had been asked to carry out an unprecedented seven reversals that year.

“I found it very difficult to get people willing to talk openly about the experience of reversing surgery. They said they felt too traumatised to talk about it, which made me think we really need to do the research even more,” he said.