A Transgender teenager in Western Australia has won a case against his parents in which they fought to regain custody of him after not recognising his gender identity.
The teenager, referred to by the courts as 'TM' applied for a protection order against his parents in October 2020 when he was taken into care. A magistrate granted the protection order on the basis that under his parents' care, TM was at risk of suicidal ideation. Previously, TM had been hospitalised wherein he was formally diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Whilst there he disclosed to social workers that he didn't feel safe at home and this contributed to the decision to grant the protection order. The magistrate held that the boy's 'suicidal ideation was to a great extent [a] result of the effect of... verbal and emotional abuse' encountered at home.
TM's parents appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and fought for custody, denying the allegations of abuse against their transgender son, while also dismissing claims that he was suicidal. However, Chief Justice Peter Quinlan, for the Supreme Court, upheld the magistrate's ruling and reiterated that the teen's parents 'did not and do not wish' to acknowledge TM's gender identity.
While the Supreme Court accepted that the parents were found not to have borne any ill intent towards their son, Judge Quinlan stated that 'the best interests of TM were, as a matter of law, the paramount consideration. All other considerations were secondary'.
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