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carpediem I have only one direct personal experience in this, which is my nephew. He brought it up to his parents at age 10. From 10 to 14 he went by a new name and wore boys clothes. He went to weekly therapy. He was formally diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Not the first day he said it, but after much time with mental health professionals. At 14, his doctor started him on male hormones. The regular visits with mental health professionals have continued. Surgeries will not occur until he is 18. The health care providers have made that clear every step of the way.
I can personally attest that no grooming, pushing, or any other form of persuasion or coercion occured. Every step of the process improved his mental health, grades, personality, and outlook.
One example isn't a trend or representative. That being said, I do think that the idea of this being forced on kids is largely a fabrication of the Christan right as a scare tactic. For such a condition to be true, two people at least would need to be willing participants. The first would be the kid's own parent or parents. This would mean that a parent would value the idea of transgender above the health of their own child. The second willing participant would be the doctor. That doctor would have to value transgender conversions above the health of their patient. While not impossible, I think it's fair to say that scenario is unlikely.
I won't sit here and try to state that it has never happened. But I am trying to make the case that if it happens it is by far the minority of cases. The majority of minors being treated are following the same path that I walked through above. It may start earlier or later, but it always starts with the kid expressing a thought and feeling that something isn't right. There was no effort to recruit gays in the 80s and 90s and there isn't an effort to recruit trans kids now.
In the very unlikely case of actual grooming, the participants should be charged with abuse. In the vast majority of cases where parents are trying to seek the best mental health care they can for their kids, the government should stay the hell out of the way and let the parents and doctors do what is best.
As a side note, the Christan groups that make efforts to fix or cure LGBTQ in kids are far more prevalent and do clear, documented harm. Some of those programs have suicide rates of near 50%. If you want to call out people for abusing kids, there is an easy target for you.
