Early social transition of transgender children ‘not helpful’

Parents of transgender children who encourage them to socially transition before they are old enough for physical treatment can make the overall process harder, according to an NHS gender identity clinic.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and port mannhs foundation Trust was the first NHS clinic to be established in the UK 30 years ago, while two more have sprung up in recent years. Clinic staff believe gender identity is an “adaptation, it’s an expression of a young person’s sense of themselves and not a pathology”.

GIDS said they have seen children as young as three, with an increase in children self-identifying as non-binary or “gender queer”.

They do not provide hormone blockers until the child has started puberty, while cross-sex hormones are given from around age 16. Less than half (45 per cent) of the children referred to the service decide to undergo physical interventions, GIDS said.

GIDS has faced criticism in the past, with Tory MP Sir John Hay saying staff had quit over pressure to refer young people for “experimental treatment” when they were not sure it was in the patient’s best interest. But Dr Bernadette Wren, clinical psychologist at the clinic, said it was seen internationally as one of the most cautious, and painstaking governmentfunded services.

GIDS says the majority of young people who come to them before puberty choose a different pathway to physical intervention.