Gender identity clinic accused of fast-tracking young adults
by Jamie Doward, Observer:
Tavistock Centre launches review amid parents’ fears over pace of transitioning decision.
Britain’s only NHS gender identity service for children is reviewing its operations amid claims made by a senior member of staff that it is failing to examine fully the psychological and social reasons behind young people’s desire to change gender.
The views are shared by a group of parents of transgender children, who have raised their own concerns that the Tavistock Centre’s gender identity development service (GIDS) in London is “fast-tracking” young people into life-altering decisions without fully assessing their personal histories.
In a letter to the trust’s board, seen by the Observer, the parents say they fear “the GIDS team is being asked to engage with and assess complex and difficult cases within a highly constrained time frame”.
They continue: “We have specific concerns about the situation of those with gender dysphoria in the age group 17 to 25 who are referred to the [adult] GIC [gender identity clinic], where they do not receive the complex psychosocial assessment offered at GIDS: for these young adults there is little exploration of the family or cultural context of their still developing gender identity.”
The Tavistock confirmed that a senior member of staff had submitted a report to its board, raising issues about its service. The Observer believes that the report questions whether the clinic should do more to consider young people’s personal histories, notably by examining whether they are on the autistic spectrum, have experienced trauma or are being influenced by social pressures, before helping them on the path to transition. As a result, the clinic has begun an internal review, to see whether these views are shared more broadly by staff.
Read also: Too young to decide? Questions dividing real-life Butterfly families
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