A hormone treatment clinic in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been surprised by the number of children seeking its services.

The Sexology Clinic began offering hormone treatment to children with gender dysphoria in January of 2016. It previously anticipated that up to 50 young people would seek its services during the course of the year.

However, it passed that figure in the summer and is now expecting to treat approximately 130 by the end of this year, according to The Local.

In Denmark, children from age 12 upwards can request hormone suppressors to block puberty. The effects of such treatment are reversible.

At 16, they can begin a course of hormone treatment that is irreversible.

In May, Danish lawmakers announced that they would be declassifying ‘being transgender’ from its list of mental disorders – a move welcomed by many transgender advocates.

A spokesperson for advocacy group LGBT Danmark said they were not surprised by the increase in young people seeing treatment.

‘The large number of requests in the Nordic countries is because we have been very late in starting treatment,’ said Linda Thor Pedersen to Danish news agency Ritzau.

‘Many more children can now get help to clarify whether they want treatment and receive the treatment at a time when puberty hasn’t yet harmed them.’

Rises worldwide in people seeking gender treatment

The rise in the number of young people seeking hormone treatment has also been noted in other countries.

A clinic in Sweden says it treated four children in 2012, but that this number has risen to 200 in 2016.

In London, the Tavistock Clinic – England’s only gender clinic specifically for young people – says it has seen a 50% increase in demand for services every year since 2010/11.

Mainstream awareness around transgender rights has grown greatly in recent years, helped by the public profile of celebrities such as Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner.

This rise in awareness has also prompted a backlash in some countries, such as the introduction of controversial ‘bathroom bills’ in some states in the US.

In January 2017, National Geographic is featuring a transgender nine-year-old girl on its front cover. It’s a move that has resulted in the publication receiving tremendous feedback – both positive and negative – from readers.

H/T: The Local