|
Rachel Cook
News that a 12 year
old Victorian child has been given the all-clear for a ‘sex change’ has made
headlines across Australia
and internationally.
While trans
activists have welcomed the Family Court’s decision to allow the child to
access hormonal treatment to halt the onset of puberty, they have hit out at
the inaccurate reporting of the story by the mainstream media.
“It has been
reported with considerable incompleteness and lack of balance,” said
spokesperson for TransGender Victoria, Sally Goldner.
“Firstly, the
incorrect use of pronouns, which is contemptuous to the person involved and to
the Family Court; and [secondly] headlines like ‘Girl, 12, wins sex change’. He is not having a sex change; he is
having a reversible course of medication until he is 16.”
Following the
court’s ruling, the child will begin taking a ‘gonadotrophin releasing hormone
analogue’ on a continuous basis, subject to the ongoing medical opinion of
specialists.
The treatment will
halt the physical onset of puberty, including menstruation and breast
development; allowing ‘breathing time’ for the child to consider if he wants to
embark on irreversible treatments, such as testosterone, when he is 16.
The child will also be allowed to apply for
a new birth certificate, passport and Medicare card.
The Family Court
reports that the boy had told his father that he would kill himself if he has
to live as a girl.
“Experts are all agreed that psychological
effects on [the child] if the treatment were not carried out would be very
detrimental and even catastrophic,” the court said in its ruling.
Goldner said it
was concerning that the media failed to accurately look at the risks if the
child did not undertake the hormone treatment.
“Not having access to this process would
greatly increase the risk of suicide and self harm,” she said.
“There is also the sensationalized view
that this is something new. Four years ago there was the case of ‘Alex’ who
underwent exactly what this child will, and I have it on good and trusted
authority that ‘Alex’ is doing well, and is a totally happy 17 year old boy
these days. Why haven’t we heard about that?” Goldner asked.
The father of the child opposed the court’s
decision to allow the commencement of the hormone treatment. According to his
nephew, as quoted in the Herald Sun,
the child has been ‘brainwashed’ by his estranged wife, who had ‘always wanted
a boy’.
However, psychologist, Linda Midalia, told
MCV that gender identity: “is not a choice; no-one invites this into their
life. The ‘brainwashing’ that occurs is when people say ‘you have to identify
as the gender you appear, not what you perceive yourself to be.”
The Australian Family Association (AFA) has
spoken out against the Family Court decision.
“It’s a concern that a 12 year old is
embarking on this sort of drastic course,” AFA national spokeswoman, Angela
Conway, told MCV.
“We’re losing sight that children are children
and not adults. A significant amount of brain development occurs from 12 to
mid-20s; at 12 there is a significant impairment to judge consequences.”
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed