On Sunday night documentary maker Louis Theroux introduced British TV viewers to the rapidly growing American trend of “transitioning” so-called transgender children at the earliest possible age.
The growing movement is not restricted to the US. The number of under 10s referred to the NHS for treatment as transgender has more than quadrupled since 2009 – with children as young as three receiving treatment.
The number rose from 19 to 77 in five years – 47 were aged five or younger and two of the children were three years old, the Daily Mail reports.
The infants received counselling and therapy at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust funded by British taxpayers. Currently, it is the only specialist health centre of its type in the UK, but it has expanded to run clinics in both North London and Leeds.
Susie Green of the charity Mermaids, which “raises awareness” of transgenderism and offers “support” to transgender children and infants, claims 60 families have contacted her organisation in the past three months alone. She told the Mail: “more parents are seeking help now than trying to make it go away or ignore it.”
So-called transgender children are subjected to powerful courses of hormone therapy to halt the onset of puberty and stunt their natural development. In America, it is not uncommon for them to undergo “top” and “bottom” surgery before the age of 18.
Studies have revealed, however, that 70-80 percent of children who report having transgender feelings come to lose such feelings and experience high levels of suicide after surgery.
The NHS does not currently fund surgical sex changes for under 18s but a campaign by the trans-lobby is campaigning for it to begin doing so. Meanwhile, the number of adults undergoing sex change surgery on the NHS has trebled since procedures began.
The Theroux documentary follows the “International Transgender Day of Visibility,” which was celebrated in some schools last month and the screening of a CBBC series promoting transgenderism aimed at pre-teens last year.
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