Record number of children seeking help for ‘gender issues’, latest figures show

The number has tripled in the UK in three years.

More than 2,300 children in the UK are seeking medical help for concerns relating to their gender. In three years, the number of children being referred by GPs has gone from 673 to 2,356 in the UK, with some patients being as young as four. Figures have also shown that 83 Irish children have been sent to England in the last six years to undergo psychological assessments with regards to their gender identity. Since 2010, Irish children struggling with their gender identity have been referred to the Tavistock Clinic in the UK but there has been a huge increase in that number over the last two years. According to NHS figures, the majority of those referred to the Tavistock Clinic in London are aged 15 or 16, however, nearly 330 of them are under the age of 13. The Tavistock Centre is the only facility in the UK to deal with this area for those under the age of 18, and have seen a huge increase by over 1,500 patients in the last three years alone. The clinic initially psychologically assesses patients before advising on ‘treatment’, which can include things like puberty blockers. In Ireland, it is said that roughly 300 families are seeking help for children with gender identity issues.