England’s only “gender identity clinic” for children has seen a 100 percent increase in referrals in the last year.
The Tavistock Clinic Gender Identity Development Service provides counseling and hormone treatment (such as blockers to stop the progress of puberty) to people under 18 who are “experiencing difficulties in the development of their gender identity.”
BBC reports data from London’s Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust shows there were 1,398 gender identity-related referrals in 2015-2016, compared to 697 in 2014-2015.
Of the referrals received by the clinic, 913 were female and 485 were male.
The clinic has normally seen an increase of 50 percent each year since 2010.
Bernadette Wren, a consultant clinic psychologist at the firm, told BBC the increase in referrals is due to a “social revolution” of people being able to define themselves—and their genders.
“We live in a world where people alter their bodies, surgically or otherwise, and this freedom is available for people as they get older,” she said. "Maybe we just have to be acknowledging that that is a liberty that people have, that these things are possible, technologically, and people will avail themselves of those things.”
"It's not really for us to approve or disapprove. What matters is what they make of their lives in the end and whether they lead rewarding lives,” she claimed.