LONDON in Britain extensive research project severely criticizes the treatment of young people with sexual anxiety.
According to it, thousands of British children have received blocker drugs that postpone the onset of puberty too easily in England. The report shows that the number of young women of Generation Z suffering from sexual anxiety has increased at the sex clinic. Generation Z includes those born between 1995 and 2010.
By a respected pediatrician By Hilary Cass led by a large study has already caused the public health system NHS to stop blocker treatment in England.
The NHS commissioned the study in 2020 after the number of minors at its own Gender Identity Development Clinic (Gids) had risen sharply.
There was an uproar at the clinic when its doctors criticized the prescribing of blocker drugs to children as young as 9 years old without investigating their reasons and backgrounds. According to the specialists, the children had mental health and other problems, but in the busy clinic they did not have time to deal with them, instead relying on the children’s self-diagnosis.
The number of girls who want sex therapy has increased drastically
The public health clinic Gender Identity Development Service Gids, which offered services, was opened in 1989. More than 9,000 young people have been treated there. For a long time, the clinics treated only dozens of young people a year.
The sharp rise started in 2014. Since then, the number of customers has increased a hundredfold. A few years ago, the number had risen to nearly 5,000.
According to the report, an even greater proportion of those seeking treatment are girls in their early teens. They represent the Z generation and the Alpha generation born after 2010. In 2009, 15 underage girls were treated at the Gids clinic. In 2016, the number had risen to over a thousand.
Cass does not believe that the reason for the drastic increase in the number of girls and young women in the clinics can be simply an increase in awareness of trans identity.
The expert blames online porn and social media
Cass blames social media, where today’s youth spend more time than any previous generation. According to him, the girls there are exposed to online porn and violence, among other things. According to Cass, social media undermines their self-esteem and body positivity. He calls for more research on the subject.
– The Z generation and the Alpha generation have grown up in a time when there has been a global recession, concern about climate change and the covid pandemic. Through global networking, they are able to keep in touch with their peers internationally, but at the same time they are more exposed to global threats, Cass writes.
Doctors are afraid of publicity
In a four-year research project, Cass discovered that doctors have not dared to criticize the treatment of young people with sexual anxiety because of an exceptionally toxic atmosphere of discussion. They are barked at on social media for their views. It has affected the quality and assessment of care.
Former Minister of Health Sajid Javid called the Gids clinic a scandal in The Times newspaper, where ideology overrode the interests of children. He also considers the prevailing political culture to be the reason for routine medicine.
Public health care limits the supply of care
The clinic, caught in the middle of the commotion, was closed in March. Treatment is mostly available from private clinics.
Public healthcare system Blocker treatment was stopped by the NHS to minors recently when the interim report of the Cass study was released. It is now only given to young people who are exceptionally anxious about their gender, if they take part in a medical study. Hormones of the opposite sex given to people over 16 years old. According to Cass, the age limit should be raised to 18 years.
Medicines and treatment have not been studied enough
Cass says there is remarkably little and weak evidence-based research on the effects of sex therapy, including that blocker therapy would give a young person thinking about their gender time to think. There is not enough information about the physical effects of the drug either.
According to Cass, there is concern that the drugs change the course of psychosexual and gender identity development. According to him, changing the relationship between sexual growth and age with drugs can lead to unwanted consequences.
In his report, he states that the results are either exaggerated or distorted depending on the interlocutor’s own position. Children at a tender age are given treatment that they may later regret. They are made to think about their coming of age in their tender adolescence through gender alone.
Mental health support instead of routine medication
The report recommends that instead of medication, young people are given mental health services, through which the causes of anxiety are investigated. Young people suffering from gender anxiety have to wait in treatment lines for a long time without any kind of help such as mental health support. According to the NHS, there are currently 5,800 minors waiting for treatment.
The report says that studies show that young people with sexual anxiety suffer from mental health problems and autism more than usual.
The NHS is now opening clinics that focus on providing mental health support to minors and their families. The report also recommends that 17–25-year-olds who transfer to adult clinics receive even more support.
The board is pleased with the results
Prime minister Rishi Sunak praised Cass’s research. He called for extreme caution in medicine, as there is no long-term information on its effects.
– In recent years, the number of children questioning their gender, especially young girls, has grown sharply. “I welcome Cass’s expert opinion, which calls for great care and compassion to be given to these children, who often have complex needs,” Sunak said.