A Family Court judge in New South Wales has ruled that a 14-year-old born male can start hormone treatments to begin transitioning to become physically female.
'Bernadette' was born a boy but had shown female traits since the age of three, reports The Age.
Psychiatric workers believed she met the criteria for gender identity disorder, and gave the OK for her to begin hormone treatment to delay the onset of puberty. Later, oestrogen treatments can be administered.
But another judge ruled last week that cases such as Bernadette's will still need to be approved through the Family Court, going against the advice of the Human Right Commission who recommended that parents should be able to decide on gender drug treatments themselves in conjunction with the advice of psychiatric professionals.
