Gender Identity Development Service referrals in 2019-20 same as 2018-19

In 2019-20 there were 2,728 referrals received at the clinic. This represents a 0.1 per cent increase compared to the previous year, which had 2,725 referrals.

GIDS is a highly specialised service for young people who experience difficulties around the development of their gender identity. Most of these young people feel discomfort or distress with their sex registered at birth. These feelings may or may not change or develop over time. At GIDS we help these young people explore their feelings and thoughts around their gender and the full range of pathways that may meet their needs both in the short and long term.  We work with every young person on a case-by-case basis, with no preconception of what might be the best outcome for them.

In England in 2019-20, 1,891 of the referrals were for young people assigned female at birth (AFAB), and 720 were for those assigned male at birth (AMAB). This continues the trend of a higher proportion of assigned-female referrals to the service. This trend in referrals is also being seen internationally.

The age at which young people are referred to the service remains similar across the last ten years, with many more young people in the age range 14-16 referred to GIDS compared to the range 3-10.

Dr Polly Carmichael, Director of GIDS, said: “The number of referrals this year is almost the same as last year. We are continuing to see a higher proportion of assigned females at birth referred to the service. We are alive to this issue and are exploring it. We continue to treat each referral on a case by case basis. We explore with each young person and their family their feelings about their gender and how these relate to their wider development.”

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Referrals to GIDS, financial years 2015-16 to 2019-20

Total referrals, 2015-16 to 2019-20

Generated on 23 April 2020 by our electronic patient record system. Correct at the time of generation, but subject to change in future. Includes referrals that were not accepted to the service.

Country	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
England	1333	1855	2388	2537	2545
Wales	42	80	118	133	138
Republic of Ireland	25	34	39	44	41
Other	8	8	9	11	4
Total	1408	1977	2554	2725	2728

Age at referral and sex assigned at birth, 2019-20

Generated on 23 April 2020 by our electronic patient record system. Correct at the time of generation, but subject to change in future. Includes referrals that were not accepted. Includes referrals from England only. Please note numbers under five have been masked, as in some cases those small numbers might identify or single out patients.

Age	2019-20, England only
	Assigned sex at birth
	AFAB	AMAB	Not Known
3 and 4	<5	<5	0
5	5	12	0
6	7	9	0
7	13	16	<5
8	17	24	<5
9	24	21	<5
10	22	32	0
11	52	23	6
12	127	37	5
13	270	45	11
14	404	90	16
15	470	152	31
16	350	162	24
17	101	67	10
18+	30	28	<5