Transgender teens must leave NT for treatment

A TRANSGENDER teen has been forced to leave the Territory due to a lack of services for under-18s seeking hormone therapy

Virginia Rabeling and her 16-year-old transgender son Benji are leaving the NT due to a lack of services. PICTURE:Helen Orr

A TRANSGENDER teen has been forced to leave the Territory due to a lack of services for under-18s seeking hormone therapy.

Ginny Rabeling’s 16-year-old son Benji has undergone stage one of a female to male transition, but a court ruling to prove under-18s can consent to their own medical treatment is required to undergo stage two, which involves irreversible hormone treatment.

An affidavit from a primary doctor, a psychiatrist and a guardian are needed to before a court can decide if an under-18 is competent, but Ms Rabeling said there were no public doctors willing to carry out a gender dysphoria psychological assessment on her son due to his age.

After visiting multiple GPs who were unable to assist the teenager, and multiple dead ends about services which are no longer running, Ms Rabeling found a clinic in Brisbane with two specialist GPs in transgender health. Her family will move to Queensland after Benji finishes Year 12 in November.

“I’m so angry I have to leave the Territory,” Ms Rabeling said. “The amount of times we have gone to a GP and they look at him like he’s weird.

“There’s no psychiatrist we can go to.”

Ms Rabeling said the issues facing transgender teens ran deeper than the search for medical and psychological support. “There’s so much bullying at school.” she said. “He doesn’t drink at school because he’s too scared to use the boys toilets.

“There’s no support system. You feel like you’re head butting the whole system here.”

Dr Danielle Stewart, who had previously worked in a Melbourne clinic specialising in LGBTI health care, said it was important to treat people at the age gender dysphoria occurred, particularly for those under 18.

“There is no benefit in delaying the response. In fact, the opposite - there can be harm in delaying the response.”

Dr Stewart will trial a monthly LGBTI health service with FIFO specialists at her Stuart Park clinic. It would provide ongoing care for the transgender community in Darwin.

“It is more complex when people are under 18. They would still have to go through a very defined assessment process which would need to take place interstate,” she said.

“Where we could help is in the follow up, once the assessments are done and treatment is initiated, they can know there’s a place they can come to and get excellent treatment because the doctor is familiar with trans health.”

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