NHS treating transgender kids aged just three as sex change doctors see soaring numbers of under 10s

A child of just eight has told how he struggles with being a boy and lives instead as a girl – with the full support of his parents.

Now called Jessica, the youngster is among of an increasing number of children turning to the NHS for transgender ­treatment as they battle with the distressing feeling of being born the wrong sex.

Two of them were just three-years-old, not even school age, when they were referred for counselling and support.

Experts claim better acceptance of gender change and more awareness among the young about exploring their feelings are some of the factors has led to the number of under-10s being sent to sex change doctors quadrupling.

Jessica told the BBC’s Victoria ­Derbyshire Programme: “I really didn’t want to be a boy. It was really frustrating for me. It feels like I’m in the wrong body.”

And the youngster, whose name was changed to protect identity, said that while living as a boy he “didn’t fit in”.

Jessica also told how going to the toilet at school was a problem because other boys thought he was a girl and did not want him in the male loo.

But using the girls’ was also out of the question.

The torment led to him not drinking any water at school to avoid having to the toilet and wait until getting home.

Jessica’s mum Ella, who split from the child’s dad several years ago, said she was accused of “conditioning” her son.

An anonymous call was made to the NSPCC claiming she forced him to live like a girl.

Ella, not her real name, is now in a long-term relationship with a woman called Alexandra and she told the radio show she had considered whether that played a part in Jessica’s gender dysphoria – the medical term for feeling ­uncomfortable being male or female.

She said: “Yes, it did cross our minds. But there is nothing we have done to make this happen. You couldn’t put a little boy in a dress if he didn’t want to wear it.”

And Ella pointed out she has two older sons,who were raised the same way.

When she found out her youngest wanted to be a girl, she and Alexandra were in “a daze, a stupor” and admitted they found it hard to take in.

But the couple now call him by a girl’s name, allow him to wear girls’ clothes and a dress to school because they say it makes him happy and content.

The only NHS centre that specialises in gender issues in under-18s is the Tavistock and Portman Trust, which has hospitals in London and Leeds.

It said the number of under-11s referred to its Gender Identity ­Development Service had risen from 19 in 2009-10 to 77 last year.

There were 20 aged three or four.

Tavistock said gender dysphoria is “frequently associated with distress which may increase at puberty”.

No physical changes are made to the children. Staff discuss with them and their family the pitfalls and benefits of any future sex change.

GIDS director Dr Polly Carmichael said: “The reasons for the increase are complex and there are a number of factors.

"These include increased awareness and acceptance of the issue and better access to the service.

"Young people are ­increasingly interested in exploring gender.

"Gender ­expression is diversifying, which makes it all the more important that young people have the opportunity to explore and develop their own path with specialist support.

"Young people coming to the service are seen as individuals who have in common gender dysphoria. Their future trajectories vary widely.”

Dr Carmichael hailed the increased awareness into gender dysphoria among children as “positive”.

But she added: “It would be a lost ­opportunity if the debate became ­‘transgender or not’.

"There are many ­variations and currently young people are only just beginning to find and be given their own voice.

“It is important that if there are concerns an early referral is made so that ­decisions around gender can be properly explored with families.

"Considerable time is spent ensuring that young people and their parents have fully discussed and explored the potential risks and benefits prior to referral for any physical interventions.”

The clinic insisted those interventions are not considered until a child approaches puberty when hormone blockers may be offered.

They delay the physical changes of adolescence, allowing youngsters time to further explore their gender identity.

If they are still certain about changing by the age of 16, then cross-sex hormones can be prescribed.

Surgery will only be considered once the child reaches 18.

There are no complete numbers on how many people experience gender dysphoria in the UK.

A survey of 10,000 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2012 suggested 1% of the population was transgender.

But the figures are difficult to collate because experts fear many people remain too afraid to seek help.

The Tavistock said that while children may fulfil the criteria for gender dysphoria, it “would not generally consider it helpful to make a formal diagnosis in the very young”.

Alison Phillips - Only love, time and security will give an answer

This all feels way, way too young.

Three year olds don’t know what day of the week it is, literally.

So how can they know for sure they’ve been born into the wrong body? And how would they express such a complex emotion?

My concern here is parents are projecting their own issues or suggesting behaviour towards children too young and impressionable to know different.

Which is why it’s encouraging to see that even though parents may take their kids along to the Tavistock & Portman clinic, experts there regard it as too early to provide a formal diagnosis.

And no treatment is offered until puberty, by which point the child can really explain how they feel.

By the time children hit eight or nine and are regularly interacting with other kids I can believe some may feel trapped in the wrong sex.

By then there is a level of awareness of what it means to be a boy or a girl.

It’s likely some of the three year olds being taken to this clinic are destined to be transgender. But others may be just playing games or pleasing persuasive parents.

What they need is time and a loving, secure environment to find out.