Massive increase in number of Aussie kids seeking transgender therapy leads experts to call for a national inquiry as it's revealed nearly 2,500 children have been referred for treatment in just five years
- New data shows surge in Australian kids being referred for gender treatment
- Reports of children as young as nine seeking 'puberty blocker' hormone drugs
- Experts have called for an urgent national inquiry into transgender drug therapy
- They say possibility of lifelong regret and health risks outweigh positives
Reports of children as young as nine seeking seeking a transgender hormone drug treatment that remains unproven has some of Australia's leading clinicians concerned.
Experts have called for an urgent national inquiry into the safety and ethics of 'puberty blocker' drugs reportedly being used in girls as young as nine and boys from 11 who are confused about their gender.
New national figures obtained by The Australian under freedom of information legislation from major hospitals in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland, show 2415 children were referred for gender treatment between 2014 and 2018.
Victoria has seen the biggest spike, with a 41 per cent increase in cases.
Hospital data has reported a spike in children seeking transgender hormone drug treatment
Despite claims puberty blockers are safe and reversible, clinicians fear its benefits to trans children and teens are outweighed by the negatives.
Cons include lifelong regret and the possibility of lifelong health complications, including a high risk of infertility and damage to the growing human brain.
Leading the calls for the national inquiry is health sociologist Geoff Holloway, who lodged a detailed submission to Health Minister Greg Hunt and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
He's been backed by other experts, including 2019 Senior Australian of the Year paediatrician Sue Packer and Western Sydney University paediatrics professor John Whitehall, who claimed there was no long-term evidence to suggest puberty blockers were safe and reversible.
'Who gave ethics approval for this treatment (at children's hospitals) when it lacks any scientific basis and therefore is an experiment?' Professor Whitehall told The Australian.
'We should give the psychiatry and psychology a full run before we start castrating children.'
Girls as young as nine are reportedly using 'puberty blockers' (stock image)
Developmental psychologist Dianna Kenny was equally concerned.
'Far be it from anybody to say that there are absolutely no people in the world who are genuinely gender dysphoric and who find it impossible to live in their biological sex,' she said.
Health sociologist Geoff Holloway (pictured) is leading calls for a urgent national inquiry
'What I'm saying is it's been massively and irresponsibly over-diagnosed … (these children and teens) are going to be irrevocably damaged by the treatment they received.
Around 1.2 per cent of Australian school children (about 45,000 children) are thought to identify as transgender, according to The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.
It has the biggest caseload in Australia after releasing the new national standards for treating young people with gender dysphoria.
The hospital's gender service unit sees children aged three to 17 years, who require a referral from their GP.
Its website states treatment options include the use of puberty blockers to stop the physical changes of puberty 'that the adolescent finds distressing'.
'For children who haven't yet reached puberty, treatment focuses on gender affirmation through talking to the child and their family and providing support for home and schooling environments,' the website states.
Around 1.2 per cent of Australian school children (about 45,000 children) are thought to identify as transgender (stock image)
The Family Court ruled last year teenagers with gender dysphoria no longer need permission from the courts to undergo surgery.
They only require the permission of their parents and the treating doctor as well as proof they have gender dysphoria and competently understand their actions.
While hormones are covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, but puberty blockers are not.
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