Children as young as three years were sent to a National Health Service transgender clinic for psychological assessment despite the health service’s view that young boys or girls showing an interest in the opposite sex’s clothes and toys is “reasonably common” and is “usually not indicative of gender incongruence.”
Figures reported by The Daily Mail this week reveal a significant increase in the number of young people sent to the Tavistock clinic over the past decade. The clinic was shut down over safety concerns last year. Only 138 children were referred to the clinic by their doctors in 2010-11, compared to 3,585 in 2021-22.
Included in these latest numbers were
169 six year olds,
140 five year olds,
61 four year olds and
12 three year olds.
The NHS trust that ran the Gender Identity Development Service in North London said no three year olds received “treatment,” with staff instead usually holding a “one-off discussion” with parents seeking advice.
But former Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price, quoted in the Mail, argued that the clinic “should never have been seeing three year olds” at all. Joanna Williams, author of How Woke Won, added: “What’s wrong with these parents? Love your child in the body they’ve got, they’re not your transgender fantasy.”
Tavistock, which had no lower age limit on referrals, is being replaced with two regional hubs. Officials are now considering introducing a minimum age of seven for future patients, which many campaigners will insist is still too young. They are also anticipating the release of a report by the consultant paediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, which “is expected to make more far-reaching recommendations about transgender services for young people,” according to The Times.
The Tory government’s response to this will be watched closely by critics who say their transgender guidelines for schools do not go far enough.
