Home   News   Article

Inverness teenage transwoman makes plea for cash after being told of three year wait for therapy support


By Louise Glen

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!
Rebecca Edwards.
Rebecca Edwards.

A teenager from Inverness has made a heartfelt plea for support to help her pay for life-changing counselling.

Rebecca Edwards (17) who lives in the Crown area of the city said due to extraordinarily long waits for gender reassignment counselling, she wants to crowdfund for money towards the therapy.

Counselling is the first step on the road to gender reassignment surgery and Miss Edwards has been told the wait for an appointment is three years. She also hopes crowdfuning will help pay for the hormones which will help her transition.

Miss Edwards has started a campaign on Go Fund Me to raise £1250, saying she has always known she was born in the wrong body.

“I’m a trans-woman and I’m wanting to go private with my gender counselling,” she said.

“In the UK the waiting list for an appointment on the NHS for a gender clinic is around three years.

“If I had to wait it would mean I’d have to wait until my early 20s to start transitioning.

“This fundraiser is to pay for the appointments and one year of hormone prescriptions with a private gender clinic.”

Miss Edwards explained that she would be able to pay for the counselling herself if she was in employment, but said: “I have been unable to get a job due to Covid.

“My parents are both unable to pay for the counselling and hormones.”

She continued: “Every little helps and I would be so grateful to receive any amount of donations. This is one of the first steps towards me being able to accept myself and truly feel right in my body.”

So far, 11 people have donated £500 to her cause.

Scottish Trans Alliance, a national support organisation, said waiting times to see a councillor was a national problem.

A spokesperson said: “There is currently a lack of NHS counsellors with experience in supporting transgender clients and their families.

“The only transgender-specific counselling service is provided as part of the Sandyford Gender Identity Clinic in Glasgow.

“However, any skilled counsellor who is prepared to do a little background reading and be non-judgmental can provide an excellent service to transgender people and their families.”

They continued: “Within the voluntary sector, LGBT Health and Wellbeing provides a range of workshops, social drop-ins and one-to-one support for transgender people.

“It also has an LGBT counselling service.”

Young people aged 13-25 who are facing the same issues as Miss Edwards can contact LGBT Youth Scotland‘s transgender support services by sending a text to 07786 202 370 to speak to a youth worker.

To support Miss Edwards visit https://uk.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-rebeccas-transition


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More