Sharp Rise in Scottish Children Concerned About Their Gender; 500 Percent Increase in 4 Years
The number of gender-confused children in Scotland that have been sent to specialists has risen by almost 500 percent in four years.
In 2013, only 34 children were sent to specialist support, according to The Times Scotland. But that number has been multiplying almost every year since, and was on course to exceed 200 last year.
Pro-LGBT groups have argued that the rise in such numbers is due to increased awareness in society over such issues.
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"I think back in 2013 if you were a young person struggling with gender, they did not know where to turn to," said James Morton, manager at the Scottish Trans Alliance. "And if they went to see their GP, often their GP would not know where to turn to either. But over the last few years, the referral pathways have become much clearer.
"It's also only in the last few years that many children have become aware of a word to describe what they're going through."
The Times clarified that the children seeing specialists are referred because they are "concerned about their gender identity or expression of their gender," but that does not necessarily mean that they are committed to gender reassignment.
Previous statistics released by the Gender Identity Development Service showed that there has been a big rise in the number of children being referred to gender identity clinics as a whole throughout the U.K., with the numbers quadrupling in the past five years.
Conservatives argue that gender confusion is being pushed on children by society, however.
"It has become an industry, people are making a career out of encouraging children to question gender at an age when they need to be left to be children. When teachers raise these issues children can become confused or unhappy and traumatized by it," said Chris McGovern, a former adviser to the Department for Education, in an article for The Telegraph earlier in July.
"In a sense we are imposing adult concerns on children. Schools feel under huge pressures to comply with a politically correct agenda," McGovern added.
Dr. Joanna Williams, a university lecturer and author of the book Women vs Feminism, further argued that over-promoting transgender issues is leading to such confusion.
"Research suggests that just one percent of the population experience gender issues. Although the number of transgender children is small, it is growing rapidly," Williams said in June, warning that children are being forced to "unlearn" the difference between boys and girls.
"Children — encouraged by their experiences at school — are beginning to question their gender identity at ever younger ages," she added, pointing out that some schools are now "encouraging even the youngest children to question whether they are really a boy or a girl."
