REVEALED: Number of primary school kids referred for gender identity treatment has TREBLED
THE number of primary school aged children who have been referred for gender identity treatment because they think they are born in the wrong body has more than TREBLED in just the last two years.
The number of primary school aged children have been referred for gender identity treatment
In the last 12 months a total of 264 children aged five to 11 were referred on by their GP for help to the Gender Identity Development Service, because they were unhappy about the sex of the body they were born into.
Just two years ago there were just 98 of these primary school aged children who were sent for treatment by medics based at The Tavistock Centre, in North London.
Last year saw 11 pre-school aged children referred on for the same type of treatment
The statistics for referrals, which were released by the clinic, shows that although the most cases involved the oldest children aged 11, the biggest rise was for youngsters aged ten where the number of referrals has jumped from 17 to 51.
Last year also saw 11 pre-school aged children, who were just three and four, referred on for the same type of treatment, compared to six of these very youngest children two years ago.
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In total there were 1,343 children aged under 16 who underwent this treatment last year compared to just 193 four years earlier.
Children who are sent to the centre have access to psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists who allow them to talk through their problems with their parents.
Children who are sent to the centre have access to psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists
Some children can be given hormone blockers to delay puberty and once they are adults they can embark upon a process of taking cross-sex hormones and surgery to complete a transformation to the opposite sex.
The bulk of the Centre's child patients last year were secondary school aged children who were 12 to 16, but the proportion of younger children among the Centre's patients has increased in the last two years. Experts believe there are more referrals to the clinic because society is becoming much more tolerant and aware of gender identity issues.