Gender dysphoria

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A person with gender dysphoria experiences anxiety, uncertainty or persistently uncomfortable feelings about their birth gender.

They feel that they have a gender identity that is different from their anatomical sex.This may lead to a fear of expressing their feelings and a fear of rejection, which may lead to deep anxiety, leading to chronic depression and possibly attempted suicide.

Sometimes a person, with gender dysphoria, undergoes hormone and surgical treatment to physically change their sex. This is called transsexualism.

It is often reported that approximately 1 in 30,000 adult genetic males and 1 in 100,000 genetic females seek to change their sex. However these figures are now accepted to be far too low.

Positive publicity has meant that many more people feel that they can now express their transsexual feelings.

Transsexuals in the UK, at present, cannot have their birth certificates altered to reflect a sex change, in law; their sex status remains unchanged. However due to a recent ruling by the European Convention on Human Rights, it is planned to introduce legislation to allow full legal recognition and the issue of new birth certificates in the near future.