Young people

“In Australia and elsewhere, there are an increasing number of young people with transsexualism being supported in affirming their innate identity by their parents. This is not because transsexualism is on the increase. Adolescents and adults do not change their minds about which sex they are. Transsexualism is not an illness or disease. It can’t be caught or encouraged. You either experience it or you don’t. It is just a stark example of human diversity.

More children are affirming their innate sex because they are trusting their parents to support them; rather than live in secret shame and turn to addictions and self-harm as was more likely in the past, because people are now telling the story of these children of difference and their families with compassion and giving out the message that they are as entitled as any other young Australians to seek wholeness and happiness and live full and fulfilling lives.”

Rachael Wallbank
Accredited Specialist Family Lawyer (LSNSW)
www.truecolours.org.au

Below is  information for under 18s and their parents or caregivers. If you can add to this collection, please contact us.

Papers and Information

• Brain-sex (neuro-biological sex differentiation)
• 2010: Young People With Transsexualism: The Contemporary Australian Experience – Rachael Wallbank
• 2011: “Inside out”: children in the wrong body Amsterdam Clinic
• 2011: Transsexual differences caught on brain scan 
• 2oo9: It’s My Body Isn’t It: Children, medical treatment and human rights (PDF 125kb) – Audio 13.1mb (57 minutes) - presented by Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant (LLM 1999) at the 2009 Costello Lecture, Thursday 23 July 2009 – Monash University
• 2009: Medical care for gender variant young people:Dealing with the practical problems – B.W.D. Reed, P.T. Cohen-Kettenis, T. Reed, N. Spack, GIRES UK
• 2004: Karen Gurney Transsexualism as an intersex condition
• 2004: How a Judge rescued Alex by retired Family Court Judge Travis Lindenmayer
• 2004:  Re Alex: Adolescent Gender Identity Disorder and the Family Court of Australia - Ethne Mills, Deakin law review, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 365-373.
• 2004: Ethics and the proposed treatment for a 13-year-old with atypical gender identity – Merle Spriggs, MJA 2004; 181 (6): 319-321.
• 2003: (PDF 65kb) Medical treatment of adolescent transsexuals - Prof Dr HA Delemarre-van de Waal, Prof Dr PT Cohen-Kettenis

Personal Stories

• Will’s Story – NSW
• Why don’t you tell them I’m a boy?
• The little boy book

Other websites

• True Colours – an Australian resource for parents and caregivers
• Mermaids – a UK resource for parents and caregivers

page updated 28 September 2011