A seven-year-old boy has been removed from his mother’s care by the high court, after he was found to be suffering “significant emotional harm” due to his mother raising him as a girl.
The judge in the case slammed social services who had simply accepted that the boy should be treated as a girl.
The High Court judge hearing the case, Mr Justice Hayden, told the court that he believed the mother had been “absolutely convinced” that the boy “perceived himself as a girl” and was therefore determined to treat him as a girl, according to reports.
However, the boy, who cannot be named and is now living with his father, has naturally reverted to having masculine interests since leaving the care of his mother, the court heard.
Family court proceedings began about three years ago after the father raised a complaint that he was not allowed access to his son. A lower-ranking judge authorised a “wide ranging” inquiry forcing local authority social services staff to begin investigations.
Justice Hayden said “flares of concern” for the boy’s wellbeing had been raised by a “whole raft of multi-disciplinary agencies”, and that he couldn’t understand why social services had “disregarded so summarily” those concerns.
He said social services staff had “moved into wholesale acceptance that [the boy] should be regarded as a girl”. He called on council to undertake a review of the “social work response” to the case; a council spokesperson said a review was already underway.
[…]
