Melissa Skinner

Melissa is the mother of Jonni Skinner, who shares the shocking account which led her to feelings of shame - to sadness - to anger.

She was told by social worker Sara Wiener - amongst other pseudoscientific methods of persuasion - that her 13 year old son must go down this path or else he will commit suicide. Melissa was sent to a sex shop to buy a silicone body suit for her son, before the doctors whom she trusted put Jonni on a cocktail of oestrogen and spironolactone before later adding puberty blockers. She details Jonni’s serious health issues which were caused by the negligent treatment, denied by the doctors who were supposed to help.