“You can’t get a tattoo, you can’t drink – you can’t even buy Tippex under 18,” says a Women of Dorset spokesman.
“Yet you can be referred to a gender identity clinic and given irreversible drugs to stop puberty, compromise your ability to have children and affect the rest of your life.”
A Dorchester mum has told the West Dorset Magazine her daughter was referred to the controversial Tavistock Clinic after just one meeting with a mental health practitioner, having told someone at school she wanted to change her gender.
The mum of three, who we are not naming, says her daughter was just 12 when she hit puberty and started feeling uncomfortable in her own body.
Unknown to her at the time, the intense feelings of discomfort were rooted in trauma her daughter had experienced aged two.
Subsequent therapy has uncovered alleged abuse, said to have taken place at the home of someone caring for her daughter while the mum was in hospital with her 11-month-old son, who was receiving treatment for meningitis.
But rather than undertake a full mental health assessment, which would have revealed the girl’s underlying issues, the mum says she was referred to Tavistock and she was expected to facilitate the appointment without question.
Now aged 19, the girl says she is acutely embarrassed by this, and that she has no desire to change gender now that she is past puberty and is dealing with the early trauma.
Her mum said: “Her wish to change gender came from nowhere. She hit puberty, which made her so uncomfortable she told someone at school she wanted to be a boy.
“We attended one session with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and she was referred to Tavistock.
“When I complained I was accused of being a narcissist and had to undergo therapy three times – all three therapists said I wasn’t a narcissist.
“Space Youth Project, which goes into schools to deliver gender and LGBT training, visited her in school and I was told my daughter was being called another name and if I didn’t then I was discriminating against her and affecting her mental health.
“Now she has been through therapy it’s been revealed she has trauma from her childhood. But because they were concentrating on gender that was missed.
“She never wanted to go down that road and finds it really embarrassing now.
“What would have happened if I’d taken her there and she had started on the puberty blockers?”
The mum appealed to MP Chris Loder for help, and says he has been a tower of strength, lobbying for a ban on prescribing puberty blockers and helping her fight to be heard.
He said: “There’s been a sharp rise in the number of referrals of children and teenagers to gender identity services in Dorset, something which I have been deeply concerned about. There is a lack of long-term robust evidence of the effects of puberty blockers on young people, with potential long-term, irreversible implications.”
He added: “We need to see an investigation into how this form of highly damaging, pseudo-scientific treatment was prescribed in the first place for children and young adults under the age of 18.”
The mum said: “The moment a child says they might have gender identity issues they are pushed into the system. There is no attempt to find out if there’s anything else going on.
“It’s a no-win situation for parents, and I’ve heard of many in my situation.
“They said I was neglecting her for not taking her to Tavistock.
“You’re set up to fail either way, whether you support their decision to change gender or not.
“I have no issue with her being transgender, if she actually was. If she wanted to express herself and dress like a boy aged 12 I would have been fine with that – and when she turned 18, if she had still wanted to change gender I would have supported her. But I don’t think at 12 there should be talk of puberty blockers and breast binding and the like.”
Women of Dorset is a collective of mothers concerned about the prescription of puberty blockers to young children.
In their extensive research they have uncovered that there’s a much higher proportion of children in the care system and kids on the autistic spectrum among those asking to change gender, leading to a suspicion the gender identity crisis could be body dysmorphia caused by low self esteem and/or previous trauma.

A Women of Dorset spokesman said: “Some of the figures are so skewed. There’s much higher number of looked after children and those with ASD. Many are struggling with puberty, the majority – 60-80% – are actually just gay and struggling with that.
“Some of these children if left alone will revert to just being gay. But instead these kids are referred to gender clinics – it’s just a live experiment on children.
“Dorset is 17th out of 195 CCGs for child referrals to gender identity clinics, and offers more referrals each year – 400 in the past ten years, with 60 last year alone.
“Space Youth Project visits 75 schools in Dorset and they only have one approach and that’s to affirm a child.
“We shouldn’t be lying to children.
“These are vulnerable children with additional issues going on in the background.
“We need a waiting, watchful process with psychotherapy – puberty is not a disease to be treated with medication.”
They added: “There is a silencing of this subject matter and many people are too scared to speak out about the harms that gender identity ideology is causing to children and women’s rights and protections.
“In addition, schools may be removing girls access to single sex toilets and changing rooms – by letting boys who declare they have a ‘gender identity’ use girls’ spaces or through the introduction of mixed sex spaces. This is against the law – we don’t know if this is happening in Dorset, or to what extent.
n Any parents who have concerns about their child and gender issues can email womenofdorset @gmail.com

Project ‘committed to wellbeing and health of LGBT+ young people’

A spokesman for Space Youth Project said: “Space Youth Projects’ core objective is to improve the mental and physical health and overall well-being of LGBT+ young people in Dorset.
“Regarding our work with local schools, we are regularly invited to run LGBT+ Inclusive Staff Training in many schools across Dorset. These sessions are in line with UK Government guidance which supports LGBT+ education in schools. This includes, The Equality Act 2010, the Government’s guidance Keeping Children Safe in School 2023 and guidance from Ofsted and the Church of England, including ‘Valuing All God’s Children’.
“Our training session covers issues requested by schools, including information on eradicating homophobic language; understanding trans/non-binary identities; the mental health of LGBT+ young people; supporting parents of LGBT+ young people and LGBT+ inclusion and visibility in lessons and around school.
“It is important to be clear that our LGBT+ inclusive staff training does not include any information on medical referrals.
“Regarding comments on Tavistock Clinic referrals, Space Youth Project does not provide any referrals directly to gender clinics, including Tavistock. We encourage anyone considering transition to speak to a medical professional who can provide accurate and up to date information.”