20pc increase in sessions for children questioning their gender

Counselling sessions through Childline for children questioning their gender identity rose by a fifth year-on-year, the NSPCC has said. This issue resulted in the biggest increase among contacts to the helpline related to sexuality and gender identity, the children’s charity said. There were 476 counselling sessions relating to gender dysphoria delivered in the year to March, up from 396 in the previous 12 months – equating to a 20% rise. Overall there were 2,457 counselling sessions where a young person’s main concern was sexuality and gender identity. Gender dysphoria is described by the NHS as a term describing “a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity”. The child’s gender was known in around two-thirds (68%) of all these counselling sessions, the NSPCC said, Of those, around two-thirds (64%) were with young people who identified as transgender or non-binary – equating to just over 1,000. One child could receive multiple counselling sessions via the helpline, therefore the numbers reflect contacts rather than individuals. The NSPCC said four in 10 contacts on the overall issues of sexuality and gender identity issues in the year to March were about fears of coming out. The charity, which has published the figures at the start of Pride Month, said it wanted to offer children reassurance that they offer a “confidential and wholly accepting space”. Shaun Friel, Childline director, said: “Young people face many difficulties and worries when it comes to sexuality and gender identity. At Childline, we regularly hear from those who are scared to come out; expressing anxieties about being judged by their family or alienated by a friend group that doesn’t accept them. “We also hear from trans and non-binary children who feel that they will never be accepted if they come out and that the world is against them. This Pride Month, we want to reassure all children that they can reach out to Childline as their authentic selves. Childline is here to be a confidential, and wholly accepting space, where young people can discuss their concerns and feelings freely.”