Skip to content

Kathryn Webb vs. transgender people

Kathryn Webb is a British psychologist and anti-transgender activist. Webb is associated with anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM). Webb also provided assistance to the UK’s anti-trans Sullivan Review.

Background

Webb attended University of Hull, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Webb then earned a doctorate from Univeristy of Oxford in 2023.

From 2017 to 2019 Webb was an assistant psychologist and NAViGO. From 2019 to 2023, Webb was a trainee clinical psychologist while completing the Oxford doctorate. In 2023, Webb was appointed a visiting academic in Oxford’s sociology department.

Criticism of LGBT Foundation recommendations

In 2022, the LGBT Foundation created a trans-inclusive report and training recommendations for British health professionals who work with pregnant people. Some healthcare workers strongly objected to the recommendations, which they found deeply offensive for recommending value-neutral and gender-inclusive language about pregnancy and childbirth.

In 2023, Webb and co-authors Rose Rickford, Charlotte Edun, and Anna Melamed published a paper critical of the LGBT Foundation report. Via The Telegraph:

Report author Kathryn Webb, from the Institute of Clinical Psychology at Oxford University, told The Telegraph: “It is clear that the authors of the study had good intentions, but they unfortunately did not have scientific intentions.

“This harms everyone by setting a dangerous precedent. You also do not do any group a favour by failing to properly research their needs; all groups are equally deserving of evidence-based care.

“However, it is also true that the issues with this particular study may have only been noticed because it related to transgender and non-binary people. It is not known how much else is being changed elsewhere in our health services without good basis.”

This report led to opportunities for Webb with anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM).

After Webb published a 2024 opinion piece in The Telegraph, that publication repeatedly referred to Webb’s piece:

Dr Kathryn Webb, a tutor in psychology at Oxford University, warned that activism had taken the place of evidence, and said experts had been punished for speaking up against the rush to medically treat children who claimed they were born in the wrong body.

Dr Webb, who last year published research into trans maternity guidance, said that she had faced resistance when investigating the subject and warned that psychologists had been pressured to overlook other reasons for children seeking to transition.

Writing for The Telegraph, she said: “For too long, the current approach to gender dysphoria care has left many of us feeling that fundamental principles of our profession were being neglected here.

“Underscoring this is a shocking absence of quality research to base guidance upon. This is unsurprising to me, having personally experienced the resistance often faced when conducting research in this sensitive area.

“In the absence of science, policies have instead looked to activism. Consequently, professional bodies have repeatedly released guidance which is, at best vague, and at worst unevidenced and politically-driven. Indeed, many clinicians have been ignored and even punished by their governing organisations for raising concerns.

“Psychologists have felt adrift and afraid, unsure if we were truly serving the best interests of our patients.”

She added: “The Review focuses only on children and their support, yet many gender-distressed adults are arguably equally vulnerable. Sadly, adult care is likely to be affected by many of the same highlighted issues – politicisation, poor evidence, and limited options. It is clear that our learning should be applied here too, with a call for adult service investigation.”

Work with SEGM

In 2024, Webb spoke twice at the SEGM conference:

References

Turner, Chloe (April 17, 2025). Coordinated Authority: UK Supreme Court, Sullivan Review & Office for Students Sanctions. Whiplash https://chloeturner.substack.com/p/coordinated-authority-uk-supreme

Harriett, Jessica (October 4, 2024). Anti-Trans hate group SEGM embedded in the NHS gender services. Substack https://jessicaharriet.substack.com/p/anti-trans-hate-group-segm-embedded

Hipwell, Kim (July 29, 2025). Major Problems with the Sullivan Review. https://transsafety.network/posts/major-problems-with-sullivan-review/

Coverage in anti-trans media

Turner, Camilla; Knapton, Srah (April 13, 2024), Teachers must not allow themselves ‘to be bullied by trans campaigners.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/13/cass-report-teachers-bullied-trans-campaigners-damian-hinds/

Critical Therapy Antidote (November 9, 2023). Clinical Psychologist Shows how Gender Ideology Leads to Poor Research Practice. https://criticaltherapyantidote.org/2023/11/09/clinical-psychologist-shows-how-gender-ideology-leads-to-poor-research-practice/

Knapton, Sarah (September 2, 2023 ). Trans maternity report backed by NHS ‘could have harmed women.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/02/nhs-backed-trans-maternity-report-could-have-harmed-women/

Killworth, Henry (March 19, 2025). Independent review provides recommendations on sex and gender identity data collection. UCL Press Office https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/mar/independent-review-provides-recommendations-sex-and-gender-identity-data-collection

Selected publications

Webb, Kathryn (April 13, 2024). Cass Review is a breath of fresh air – we now need one for gender-distressed adults. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/13/cass-review-gender-distressed-adults-investigation0/

Webb, K., Rickford, R., Edun, C., & Melamed, A. (2023). Trans and non-binary experiences of maternity services: cautioning against acting without evidence. British Journal of Midwifery, 31(9), 512–518. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2023.31.9.512

Webb, K. (2023). [dissertation] Gender affirming surgery and psychosocial functioning; a systematic review of regret, satisfaction and quality of life. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a39ec8d0-fd78-4ab8-93d9-25b4cf019cb9

Iqbal, Z., Airey, N. D., Brown, S. R., Wright, N. M. J., Miklova, D., Nielsen, V., Webb, K., & Sajjad, A. (2021). Waiting list eradication in secondary care psychology: Addressing a National Health Service blind spot. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28(4), 969–977. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2551

Resources

X/Twitter (x.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

ResearchGate (researchgate.net)