Sex change: Rise in children transitioning is infectious trend, expert says
EXCLUSIVE: An average of two children a month are given Family Court permission to begin irreversible sex change treatment — a trend that has triggered a war of words between experts.
NSW
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AN average of two children a month are given Family Court permission to begin irreversible sex change treatment — a trend that has triggered a war of words between experts.
In the most recent case, the court ruled in favour of 17-year-old “Ashton” to undergo treatment to fulfil his wishes of becoming a boy after the family spoke of “Ashton’s” distress at having female attributes.
They said Ashton, who wears a male uniform, was often the subject of assaults at school, with one student recently expelled as a result.
Western Sydney University professor of pediatrics John Whitehall said the rise in transitioning was “an infectious trend”.
Professor Whitehall wants an age limit of at least 18 before children who claim they have gender dysphoria are permitted to undergo treatment, or preferably 25, when their brains have “matured”.
However, Sydney gender identity specialist Dr Elizabeth Riley, who helps private and Catholic schools accommodate transitioning children, said children were not simply inventing their preferred sex.
Another case involved a 17-year-old girl, who has been living life as a boy since the age of eight, seeking court approval to undergo cross-sex hormone treatment after becoming anxious her cover would be blown.
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While two doctors questioned whether “Jaden” was competent to make the decision to proceed, the court ruled in favour of the family’s wishes.
An analysis of Family Court judgments from the start of this year show 10 children have been granted legal approval to start “stage two” treatment to allow for physical changes. Stage one treatment given to stop the onset of puberty does not require court approval.
Professor Whitehall, who has worked as a paediatrician, said children should not even be allowed to undergo stage one treatment, claiming it led to changes in the brain.
He said it was “unreasonable” to expect children to understand the gravity of the decisions they were making at such a young age.
“It is unreasonable to expect juveniles to have a complete picture of where they want to be in later life, especially kids that haven’t even yet reached puberty. This is an infectious trend, a dangerous fad and I think it’s nonsense. The courts should stop messing with our kids until they are at least 18 because once you change, that’s it.”
Dr Riley, who said schools are becoming more accepting of “trans” children, said kids were simply not “making it up”. She said her own consulting experience backed studies that showed more than 1 per cent of high school students had gender dysphoria.
She agreed the coming out of one teenager led to “four to five others” coming out, but said it was the result of the support. “Any school will have half a dozen transgender kids, whether they go on to transition or not,” Dr Riley said.
“It is (Professor Whitehall’s) negative bias that is forcing them to have to choose this route.”
Dr Riley said she had consulted 12 schools so far this year on transgender children, with another three booked.
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