Transgender father-of-three wins right to help raise his girls after lengthy custody battle
AINSLEY PAVEY
From: The Courier-Mail
November 30, 2012 1:00 AMhttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/transgender-father-wins-custody-clash/story-e6frg6n6-1226526988113A FATHER of three who underwent a sex change operation has won the right to help raise his three girls while living his life as a woman.
The 49-year-old will have equal, shared responsibility for the girls, aged seven, 12 and 17, in all areas, except their education and health, after a 31/2-year custody battle in the Federal Magistrates Court.
The Courier-Mail cannot name the father, but he is referred to as "Ms Parer" in a recently released judgment on the Legal Aid-funded litigation. His former wife appeared without a lawyer.
The girls will live with their mother in her "blended household" after "weathering taunts, jibes and ridicule from peers" about their father's gender transition.
The father argued "my gender reassignment is different to my being a parent" and while the two eldest girls refuse to see the father, Mr Harman said he was satisfied "Ms Parer" was capable of caring for the youngest girl, who would eventually stay overnight.
