The Tavistock: inside the gender clinic
By Tortoise Media
From Tortoise, journalist Polly Curtis tells the story of the Gender Identity Development Service for children and young people at the Tavistock. The Tavi, as it’s known, is the only NHS clinic in England and Wales which treats children suffering from gender dysphoria. Its critics have accused it of fast-tracking young people into changing gender. Its supporters argue it has provided help and support, even a lifeline for some. In a few months time the clinic will close. This is the story of what happened.
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Latest episode
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Episode seven: Gender GP
Inside the world of private trans healthcare -
Episode six: The real scandal
Polly Curtis investigates why NHS England accelerated the closure of GIDS and what the future of the service could look like for children and young people. -
Episode five: The noise
The public debate around the work of the Tavistock is getting louder. Kiera Bell wins a landmark ruling at the High Court. The ruling is later overturned but for many people the narrative of the Gender Identity Development Service is now set in stone… -
Episode four: The enemy within
The internal divisions at GIDS and the wider Tavistock centre spill out into the open. Whistleblowers are publicly critical of GIDS. GIDS desperately tries to hold its team together. Meanwhile the numbers on the waiting list tick up and up. -
Episode three: Thin ice
As the increase in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service increases, the profile of the young people seeking treatment changes too. -
Episode two: The broom cupboard
“I remember our office was literally a room that had probably been a broom cupboard at one stage”. But the decision to start offering puberty blockers to under-16s, and to widen the professionals who could refer a child to GIDS had a major impact. -
Episode one: A verdict
In the summer of 2022 the NHS announced it was winding up the Gender Identity Development Service for children and young people at the Tavistock. Critics of the service celebrated, its supporters were left in despair. -
The Tavistock: Inside the gender clinic
What happened inside the Gender Identity Development Service for children and young people at the Tavistock