A five-year-old in the UK was referred to a specialist clinic as a result of transgender feelings last year, according to a media report on Sunday.
The child was one of 75 referred from Wales due to their gender confusion — almost double the previous year. Seven years ago there was just one Welsh referral through the National Health Service, the BBC reported. The figures are from the Tavistock clinic — the only centre offering gender identity treatment to young people in England and Wales — which have seen a sharp rise in recent years.
About 2,000 children and young people were referred there through the NHS last year — an increase of 42 per cent on 2015/16. The increase in referrals from Wales was 79 per cent.
Jamie Pallas from Gendered Intelligence, which works with transgender children, said: “In general, there has been a great increase in awareness, so if young people are talking to their parents and have questions generally, their parents may be more aware in what they can do to help them.”
