Children of all ages who believe they are transgender will be eligible for gender treatment on the NHS, including therapy and counselling. Previously, a minimum age limit of seven years old was to be introduced, yet this was scrapped following a consultation. An inside source at the health service close to the consultation process, revealed to The Telegraph that NHS England had “caved to the pressure” of transgender activists.
New guidance is now set to be unveiled, which will state that children of any age are eligible to be seen at its specialist gender clinics. While drugs such as puberty blockers are banned for children under the age of 18, nursery-age children will have access to therapy, along with their family.
The health service historically stated that children under seven were “too young” to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria. By that age, “children may have more developed their cognitive, comprehension and communication skills to an extent that they will be able to engage with health professionals,” the 2023 guidance states.
The documents also cite an example of young children likening clothes or toys typically associated with the opposite sex as being normal, claiming it “is reasonably common behaviour in childhood and is usually not indicative of gender incongruence”.
The draft guidance follows the Cass review into services for transgender children. Baroness Cass led the probe, discovering that the NHS had sent children to change gender at the The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) for children, run by The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which later closed down.
It was found that doctors often prescribed puberty blockers without sufficient evidence to support their safety, before considering other options or conditions.
After the clinic’s closure, the NHS began to open regional gender clinics which offered a more “holistic” approach.
According to data released by the public health body, there are fewer than 10 children of nursery age being treated. The specific under-fives figure was not released, yet 157 children aged nine or younger have been referred to the clinics.
The new guidance has sparked fear that the services could mimic that of the GIDS Tavistock clinic, which saw numerous children under seven each month.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy for human-rights charity Sex Matters, told The Telegraph: “Research shows that pre-adolescent children who feel confused or distressed by the fact of their sex will usually grow out of this stage if they’re sensitively supported but not when they’re encouraged to believe the unscientific notion that everyone has a ‘gender identity’ that may differ from their sex.
She questioned whether the new hubs and guidance will “perpetuate the failed” model of the now-closed clinic, insisting that “parents should keep their children well away,” if this is the case.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is not true that toddlers are being treated for gender incongruence. As the Cass Review recommended, parents who have concerns about their child are offered specialist support and guidance.”