Mums ‘fearful’ as teens buy trans drugs online

Parents have warned how easily gender-confused young adults can purchase cross-sex hormones online with just their “pocket money”.

Writing in The Times, two mothers explained how their 18-year-old sons bought the drugs from Asia after struggling with mental health problems three years earlier in lockdown.

The mother of Harry, not his real name, said: “Our family life has been completely destroyed. I find the situation so depressing. I can’t talk him out of it. I’ve tried. It only seems to make the situation worse.”

Family breakdown

After Harry watched a YouTube video where the presenter said that living as a woman lifted his stress, Harry told his parents: “I feel the same way. I’ve realised my stress is because I’ve been pretending to be this person I’m not. I’ve been living this inauthentic life.”

He claimed “I’m really a woman”, and started using a female name and wearing dresses.

But when Harry’s parents tried to prevent him from taking the cross-sex hormones he bought online, he reported them to the police for theft.

His mum lamented: “My son is definitely taking the hormones. I can see the effect on his body because he has got larger breasts. He still lives here. He comes down for meals but we don’t talk very much. We don’t use his new name and we avoid pronouns in his presence as we know that will kick off arguments.”

‘Helpless’

When Tom’s mother discovered that he bought cross-sex hormones from Hong Kong without a prescription, she contacted a GP for help.

She said: “I’m really worried. I know he’s 18. What can you do?’ The doctor sounded terribly sympathetic. And then he said: ‘Well, have you thought about Gids? Perhaps he should try surgery.’ I felt so angry and helpless. How had we got here?”

The mum reflected: “I have a big fear of him taking hormones, his brain is still developing. Most people feel pretty odd going through puberty. To simply affirm them or tell them they’re in the wrong body is surely child abuse.”

NHS

Dr Hilary Cass outlined reported failings in transgender clinics for adults in a letter recently made public.

Writing to NHS England in May, Dr Cass shared concerns raised by a number of clinicians with the “model of care” in several NHS adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics.

Dr Cass explained: “The most common concern was the very limited time for assessment and the expectation that patients would be put on hormones by their second visit.”

Responding on 7 August, John Stewart and Professor James Palmer – Directors of Specialised Commissioning at NHS England – said they are still considering “how best” to pursue the reported issues in a planned review of adult services.