If you are a parent of a trans child being contacted or investigated by social services simply because your child is receiving gender-affirming care, please know this: you are not alone, and you are not doing anything wrong.
Supporting a Trans Child Is the Right Thing to Do
It is both lawful and appropriate to support your child in exploring and affirming their gender identity. Seeking private or international healthcare when the public system is failing to meet your child’s needs is not only legal, it is often necessary.
Here are a few key points to understand and share if you are being challenged:
1. Gender Reassignment Is a Protected Characteristic
Under the Equality Act 2010, gender reassignment is a protected characteristic. Discriminating against a person (including a child) because they are transgender, or because they are undergoing, have undergone, or plan to undergo gender-affirming care, is against the law.
2. Your Child’s Healthcare Is Evidence-Based and Recognised Internationally
If your child has been diagnosed with Gender Incongruence of Childhood or Adolescence, as defined in the ICD-11 by the World Health Organization, and is receiving care in line with guidelines from organisations like:
- The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
- The Endocrine Society
- The American Academy of Pediatrics
...then this care is recognised, ethical, and not a safeguarding concern. The NHS may be reviewing their service provision, but gender-affirming care is widely recognised as being essential for children.
3. Social Services Must Have Legitimate Grounds
Social services are there to protect children from:
- Abuse or neglect
- Harmful home environments
- Violence or exploitation
A family who is simply supporting a trans child with legal, evidence-based healthcare does not fall into any of these categories. Using social services or police involvement as a tool against trans children and their families amounts to harassment and misuse of authority.
What You Can Say or Do
If social workers contact you:
- Stay calm and polite.
- Ask them to explain clearly and in writing what the concern is and under what authority they are contacting you.
- State that your child is receiving care based on international best practice and supported by medical experts.
- Reaffirm that you are acting in your child’s best interests and that there is no evidence of harm, only of love, support, and appropriate medical care.
- Keep a record of all communication.
You Have the Right to Push Back
If you believe the process is discriminatory:
- You can make a formal complaint.
- You can seek legal advice.
- You can request a second opinion or an independent review.
- If needed, organisations and professionals who advocate for trans rights can support you.
Trans Children
Supporting a trans child by affirming their identity is not dangerous, but denying it is.You are showing your child what it means to be loved and respected for who they are. Do not let fear or intimidation make you question that.
If you are in this situation and feel frightened or unsure, reach out. There is support. And there are many of us, experts, professionals, parents, advocates, who will stand beside you.