‘I regret treatment... giving it to kids could be perpetuating a great harm’

A WOMAN who began treatment to become a man and later regretted it has warned against letting young children have such procedures.

Kate, 30, who spoke on condition of anonymity, injected herself with hormones, causing her voice to drop and facial hair to grow. She gave up after deciding she was not transgender.

The medical student, who started her treatment in her early 20s, said she felt encouraged to do so after visiting online forums. She said: “I’m very concerned that if I was a teenager now or even younger, I or my parents would be pushed to consider me then as transgender. I would have welcomed that at the time.

“I wanted to be a boy when I was younger because boys were allowed to be assertive and confident.

“A young person may now take hormones or have surgery and later regret it. By giving treatment to children we may be perpetrating a great harm.”

Kate said only last year did she become comfortable as a female. She said her deeper voice and facial hair are a constant reminder of how “misguided” she was.