Published in: Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 2012. Authors: Elizabeth Anne Riley, Lindy Clemson, Gomathi Sitharthan, Milton Diamond.
“… the needs of children that emerged were most notably, for parents, school staff and other authority figures to be educated so that children do not need to ‘hide’ themselves and their gender expression for fear of adversity. The participants also expressed their need as children to be able to speak about their feelings, to have their gender expression accepted, to be recognised, to be protected, to be given the opportunity to know others with similar feelings and for their parents to be open-minded, able and willing to accept their gender variant children. This study identified that the participants’ parents primarily needed access to information and educated professionals, particularly in schools, counselling and medical contexts. Exposure to successful transgender people and access to parent support groups was also seen as a need to help parents become more accepting of their children's diversity. The need for family and wider support was mentioned as a need for both the gender variant children and the parents as some participants felt that even though support of their parents was necessary, it was not enough for them to live happily and safely within the broader society.”
“The need for ‘health literacy’ was highlighted as tool to empower individuals, in this case, parents, to respond effectively in addressing the issues with regard to their gender variant children. In particular, allowing confidence to approach professionals for support with their own and their child's emotional, physical and social well-being….”
“… it appears that living in a society where punishment is customary for lack of conformity to gender stereotypes creates a lifelong struggle and sometimes ‘withdrawal’ that caused some participants great distress and impacts on their self-esteem and ability to thrive.”
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Surviving-a-gender-variant-childhood%3A-the-views-of-Riley-Clemson/20d1168cecafe4aa6c633e4691b60e88ed31c901
