100 IRISH KIDS SENT TO TRANS ROW CLINIC
Controversial facility at centre of ‘fast-tracker’ sex-change probe
Sky, right, and with the other skateboarders also awarded funding for Olympic Games qualification
THE world’s youngest skateboarding pro, 10-year-old Sky Brown, joined other highflying people competing this weekend for a place at next year’s Olympics.
The first official national skateboard competition, a three-day event ending today, can earn them qualifying points for the Tokyo Games.
More than 140 entrants took part in Salford, Greater Manchester.
Sky, who has a British dad and a Japanese mum, could become Team GB’S youngest-ever competitor at a summer Olympics.
She was one of five skateboarders awarded special funding last month to help them qualify. facility revealed 38 Irish youngsters attended in 2017/2018, with 35 the previous year and 27 the year before that. Since 2010, a total of 117 kids unhappy with their biological sex have attended the clinic. However, in the last three years there has been a sharp rise in referrals. The children, ranging in age from eight to 17, are psychologically assessed. Treatment, which can involve puberty blockers, is mainly carried out in the Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Dublin. The consultant psychotherapist, who had a 34-year association with the trust, insisted the facility needs oversight from an independent body. Dr Evans told how he was approached last The Tavistock gender identity clinic in London year with staff concerns there was “not enough of a thorough investigation of what was wrong with these kids” and they were “being fast-tracked”.
He said parents can often come in with a specific agenda wanting “drugs as quickly as possible to take away the dysphoria”.
Children can be treated with hormone blockers and from the age of 16 can be prescribed cross-sex treatment of oestrogen or testosterone, causing irreversible changes to the body.
Dr Evans told how people find it difficult to speak out because of the “tyrannical” fear of being accused of transphobia.
He added: “I’m not transphobic – I’m standing up for what I think is good medical practice. I think we need to slow 468 the whole thing. In normal development you go through different stages, you identify with your mum, your dad, you experiment with being the risktaker, at being passive, you become a punk – experimenting with different facets of your identity is part of growing up.
“Why are we coming to fix solutions on one topic (gender) at an early age? This is a clinical and a parental failure.” The Tavistock said in a statement it provides a specialised service “by fostering recognition and non-judgemental acceptance of diversity in gender identities, providing support, advice and treatment”.
A HSE spokesman added: “The HSE has worked with clinicians in Ireland and representatives of the transgender community to develop an agreed model of care.
“Tavistock have provided a service in Ireland for a number of years. They are supporting us to transition this service to Irish clinicians.”
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