Transgender woman takes own life after being mutilated in backyard surgery

A devastated mother is demanding justice for her transgender daughter who took her own life after being horrifically mutilated in a backyard surgery by a rogue operator with no medical training.

A 24-year-old woman took her own life after enduring a horrific unlawful genital removal procedure.

A transgender woman took her own life after she was horrifically mutilated in a backyard surgery by a rogue operator with no medical training.

The 24-year-old was made to lie on a tarp on a bed during the unlawful genital removal procedure which was abandoned due to extreme blood loss.

The “unlicensed, non-medical” individual responsible for the woman’s assault-like injuries has never been pursued, prompting calls by her mother for a police investigation to hold them accountable and protect others from danger.

A friend of the woman said “a vet” would have been better qualified to perform the procedure.

Tragically the woman ended her life 18 months after the aborted procedure using a drug sold to her by an Australian chemical supplier now under scrutiny.

A Herald Sun investigation can reveal the transgender woman went under the knife in a residential setting in Melbourne in October 2019.

Frustrated by barriers to medical gender affirmation, she put her faith in the uncertified ‘surgeon’, who she found online.

At their hands, she underwent an orchiectomy – removal of the testes – but there were serious complications, including excessive bleeding, which resulted in her admission to Casey Hospital.

The woman suffered complications after the botched surgery and was rushed to Casey Hospital. Picture: James Ross

Rachel Byrne is demanding justice for her daughter, urging police to hold responsible the person who maimed her child.

“The exploitation of an extremely vulnerable person is something I cannot understand. How could a human being do this to another and have no consequences?” Ms Byrne said.

Disturbing details of the unlawful procedure were shared by the transgender woman with her best friend, Cecilia Jones.

“She said she was on a tarp on a bed and there was blood everywhere,” Ms Jones told the Herald Sun.

“She felt desperate and this guy she found online.

“The way I saw it, a vet was better (qualified).”

The woman disclosed to hospital staff her injuries were the result of a procedure by a non-medical person, but they did not refer the information to police.

Ms Byrne is furious at the hospital, saying it is as “culpable as the vile excuse of a human being who attacked and maimed my child”.

“I cannot believe that following my daughter’s hospitalisation and disclosure that this had occurred, no one at Monash Health thought to follow this up or inform the police (to) help identify this criminal and ensure this doesn’t keep happening,” she said.

“It is a shameless situation that when someone tries to get help from our medical profession, they are not given the support they need.

“No one cared about my child – that is unforgivable.”

The woman’s death is one of five being investigated by a Victorian coroner. Picture: David Crosling

Monash Health declined to comment, citing “ongoing obligations to protect patient privacy and confidentiality”.

Individuals who pose as registered practitioners can be charged by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency with ‘holding out’, an offence which carries penalties including imprisonment and significant fines.

The regulator is powerless in cases where a person does not purport to be a registered medical professional.

The suicide of the transgender woman is one of five currently being investigated by a Victorian coroner.

The inquest has heard there are significant barriers to medical gender affirmation, including cost – estimated at $20K for male to female surgery – as well as lengthy waitlists, approval processes and limited qualified surgeons.

“Female genital surgery can be difficult or impossible to obtain in Victoria or Australia,” Transgender Victoria submitted.

The advocacy body said trans people have some of the highest rates of suicidality and suicide attempts in Australia, and that access to medical gender affirmation is “medically necessary” to prevent deaths.

“A trans or gender diverse person will often delay affirming their gender until living in their birth gender becomes intolerable. This often manifests in a strong feeling that their options are to affirm their gender or suicide,” it submitted to the inquest.

Premier Jacinta Allan on Wednesday labelled the case “distressing” and said she would be open to taking action once the coroner hands down the findings.

Ms Allan said the anonymity of the individual responsible for the botched surgery had added complications to the case.

Ms Allan said it was a distressing case. Picture: Diego Fedele

“That person’s identity is unknown and that obviously adds to the complexity of this really tragic and difficult situation,” she said.

“It’s really challenging to comment further given the coronial investigations.

“When we receive the coroner’s report, if there is further action we need to take, we will examine that report and respond accordingly.”

She said it was troubling to hear that young transgender people in Victoria felt they didn’t have access to professional care.

“What for me was really distressing in reading that report was that young transgender people feel that they couldn’t get the support they need in more formal systems,” she said.

“We have to work very, very hard to provide them with care and support and love.

“Certainly my thoughts are with the family.”