Post by Ayla on Feb 22, 2016 14:49:45 GMT 8
TWO days ago Naomi, Andrew and their children Isabelle, 12, and Hattie, 9, piled into the family car to drive from their home in the small rural town of Taggerty, about 100km northeast of Melbourne, to Canberra.
This is no ordinary road trip. Along with numerous other children, parents, a legal expert and a doctor specialising in adolescent medicine, the Langley-McNamara family is coming to the nation’s capital on an urgent mission. This morning they are meeting with members of Parliament from across the political spectrum to tell their stories.
Naomi sees this as a way to keep her eldest daughter from suicide and self-harm.
“There’s been really dark times. Isabelle has said to us that if she can’t be who she truly is and live as a girl, then she’d rather not live at all. That’s what we’re dealing with here and that’s the level of distress,” Naomi says.
“This is a scary thing for me as a mother, and I will move mountains to make sure she is safe.”
The Langley-McNamara family, just like any family, would do anything to keep their eldest daughter Isabelle safe. Picture: Rick Liston / news.com.au
Like 44,000 other Australian children, Isabelle is transgender. Biologically, she was born as a male but identifies as a girl.
In order to stop Isabelle going through male puberty, she will require so-called stage two cross-sex hormone treatment within the next two to four years.
In countries where this stage-two treatment is available, Australia is believed to be the only nation in the world where transgender children are required to go through the Family Court to get access to it....
www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/fighting-for-isabelle-the-battle-for-transgender-kids-to-get-access-to-crosssex-hormones/news-story/1083395b247646e0db8b6888a5d8334e
This is no ordinary road trip. Along with numerous other children, parents, a legal expert and a doctor specialising in adolescent medicine, the Langley-McNamara family is coming to the nation’s capital on an urgent mission. This morning they are meeting with members of Parliament from across the political spectrum to tell their stories.
Naomi sees this as a way to keep her eldest daughter from suicide and self-harm.
“There’s been really dark times. Isabelle has said to us that if she can’t be who she truly is and live as a girl, then she’d rather not live at all. That’s what we’re dealing with here and that’s the level of distress,” Naomi says.
“This is a scary thing for me as a mother, and I will move mountains to make sure she is safe.”
The Langley-McNamara family, just like any family, would do anything to keep their eldest daughter Isabelle safe. Picture: Rick Liston / news.com.au
Like 44,000 other Australian children, Isabelle is transgender. Biologically, she was born as a male but identifies as a girl.
In order to stop Isabelle going through male puberty, she will require so-called stage two cross-sex hormone treatment within the next two to four years.
In countries where this stage-two treatment is available, Australia is believed to be the only nation in the world where transgender children are required to go through the Family Court to get access to it....
www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/fighting-for-isabelle-the-battle-for-transgender-kids-to-get-access-to-crosssex-hormones/news-story/1083395b247646e0db8b6888a5d8334e