Trans activist: “We need to save the lives of kids like me”

Young trans activist Georgie Stone has gathered the support of over 15,000 people with her petition to allow trans teens to access hormones without going through the court system.

Australia is the only country in the world requiring legal approval before teens can start ‘stage two’ hormone treatment.

They were also previously required to go to court for permission to start ‘stage one’ puberty blockers, but Stone’s lobbying led to this requirement being scrapped.

Stone, 16, was awarded Person of the Year at last year’s Gay and Lesbian Organisation of Business and Enterprise (GLOBE) Awards for her activism.

Stone said the court requirement makes young trans people “feel like there is something wrong with us” while delaying necessary treatment.

“Having to go to court is costly, time consuming and stressful for trans teens and their families,” she said.

Stone was granted access to puberty blockers by the Family Court at age 11. She said she would have killed herself if she started puberty.

“The involvement of the Family Court in the medical decisions of transgender teens is actually harming those children it is supposed to protect,” Stone wrote in the petition.

“We need to change this now and save the lives of kids like me,” she said.

Stone will deliver the petition to Parliament House in Canberra at the end of this month.