An investigation has been ordered into why so many girls are seeking gender reassignment after the number referred for treatment rose by more than 4,000% in less than a decade.
These treatments include puberty blockers that suppress puberty, injections of cross-sex hormones that render women and girls permanently infertile, and physical surgeries that leave them altered for life.
The Women and Equalities Minister, Penny Mordaunt, has instructed her officials to look into the cause. Official figures show the number of girls being given gender treatment has risen from 40 in 2009-10 to 1,806 in 2017-18.
Over the weekend, a source at the Government Equalities Office told the London Times: “There has been a substantial increase in the number of individuals assigned female at birth being referred to the NHS. There is evidence that this trend is happening in other countries as well. Little is known, however, about why this is and what are the long-term impacts.”
Last month the junior equalities minister, Victoria Atkins, was criticised by transgender rights campaigners for expressing caution about those undergoing “serious and life changing” gender reassignment treatments.
