GENDER DYSPHORIA - FACTS AND INFORMATION
The gender epidemic
Time for reflection or more gender clinics?
In recent years, all Western countries have seen a dramatic increase in the number of referrals of young people to gender clinics. For example, in the United Kingdom, the number of referrals rose from 77 in 2009 to 5,000 in 2021. A similar trend is also seen in Belgium. Between 2007 and 2023, 890 minors (under 17) registered with the Ghent pediatric gender clinic. From 2021 onward, this number has consistently exceeded 250 per year. In 2022, 684 children between the ages of 9 and 17 in Belgium were prescribed medical treatment (puberty blockers). This represents a 60% increase compared to 2019. In 2024, there were 2,243 people on the Ghent gender clinic’s waiting list. Of these, 1,734 were adults and 509 were minors.
This extreme increase is accounted for as a result of the growing care and attention for trans individuals, which leads to a lack of criticism. The disproportionate media attention to trans people—which portrays it as a courageous and positive story—is part of this. Facts are not taken too seriously, and a myth preceded by a scientific explanation lends credence. The addition of “T” to the acronym LGB created the perception of a common base of support within the gay rights movement. This dovetailed seamlessly with the rise of the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” narrative—fueled by academic circles—as a progressive narrative of tolerance. It was the necessary glue—in a changing zeitgeist—for a shared narrative of European values that society as a whole could embrace. This narrative was framed in a policy and supported by the allocation of subsidies from the Equal Opportunities Policy. A policy that monitors all forms of discrimination, including transphobia.
Cracks
To address the increasing waiting times for transgender care, Minister Frank Vandenbroucke called on hospitals in December 2023 to apply to become “transgender care centers“. This call was met with success. Flanders now has seven centers for transgender care: Ghent University Hospital, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp University Hospital, VITAZ Sint-Niklaas, UPC KU Leuven, AZ Groeninge Kortrijk, and ZOL Genk. In Belgium, four centers offer pediatric gender care: Ghent University Hospital, Antwerp University Hospital, Liège University Medical Center, and Erasmus Hospital Brussels (in collaboration with HUDERF).
The question of the cause of this significant increase in young people with gender dysphoria and the effectiveness of treatment was not addressed, despite the alarming findings of the Cass report. The publication of the WPATH files (March 2024) and fraud by WPATH regarding their Standards of Care (June 2024) – the standard of care Belgian gender clinics rely on – were not detected as red flags. The global controversy over so-called trans care and the growing number of detransitioners was ignored.
The publication of the Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria by the US Health and Human Service (HHS) in May 2025 received no attention in the Belgian media. At its 2025 congress in Strasbourg, ESCAP (European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) emphasized that the medical and mental health of adolescents undergoing transition did not improve—neither with regard to depression nor suicidality.
Why don’t facts matter? Could the prioritization of ideology over facts have something to do with the narrative of our fundamental values, which prevent us from looking into our own hearts?