300 children a year given ‘transgender treatment’

HORMONE-blocking drugs are being given to 300 children a year because they believe they are transgender.

Around 800 youngsters in Britain are now receiving powerful treatment to ‘pause’ puberty, it has been revealed.

Children as young as ten are being referred for the monthly hormone injections, which prevent changes to the body such as breasts or facial hair, making it easier for doctors to carry out sex change surgery later.

The age limit of 15 to access puberty blockers was cut to 12 in 2011. But in some cases it can be as soon as puberty starts, following a psychological assessment. Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, the only facility specialising in child gender identity, says around 300 children received the drugs in 2017-18. The figures were reported on BBC current affairs show Victoria Derbyshire, where the mother of an 11-year-old girl called Jessica, born a boy called James, was asked about her child’s treatment.

The parent, who was not named, said: ‘It’s put her mind at ease. She was really worried about growing a beard, I think that was her biggest concern.’

Asked if she was worried about Jessica using the hormone drugs, she said: ‘I am not concerned because I don’t want my child to go through a time where they feel it’s so bad they need to kill themselves.’

For 2017-18, the Tavistock and Portman trust received an additional £2.8million in funding from NHS England to deal with rising demand for its services. Almost 2,000 children, 1,400 of whom were girls, were seen by doctors last year, following a 20-fold spike in referrals since 2009-10.

Three-year-olds have been treated for transgender issues, with experts saying the rise is being driven by an increased willingness in society to accept gender diversity.

‘Worried about growing a beard’