“The one thing they’re looking for is love and acceptance and that’s it.”
Even to this day, despite her social transition, the Grade 4 student still has tough times.
“She sometimes says to me, ‘You don’t know how hard it is to be trans’,” Mrs Carmichael said.
“I don’t understand. She transitioned at school and entered that school as a different gender and had a different name. It’s not like we can just take that all away.”
Stage two treatment is irreversible cross-sex hormone treatment and surgery.
At 18 years old, a trans person can choose to have gender reassignment surgery where the appearance and functioning of their existing sexual characteristics are altered.
“I cannot wait until I am 18 because I am going to get a new downstairs,” Briella has written in her diary.
Another entry read: “When I was a boy I felt sad because I don’t like being a boy because I don’t like boys’ stuff because I don’t want a beard and a moustache.”
Mrs Carmichael said Briella had partial circumcision because she refused to touch her most hated body part and stand up when going to the bathroom.
"That was part of her body she wanted nothing to do with," she said.
"She looked at it like it wasn’t hers.”
‘WHAT’S BETWEEN MY DAUGHTER’S LEGS IN NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS’
According to data collected by Trans Pathways, 89 per cent of trans children have experienced peer rejection and 74 per cent have been bullied.
“At the start when she transitioned, people were saying things to her like, ‘You’re not a girl, you’re a boy’,” Mrs Carmichael said.
“She would cry and say, ‘Maybe it’ll just be easier if I was a boy’. I say, ‘Boy or girl, I don’t care, I just want you to be happy’.
“She says, ‘The only boy thing about me is that thing down there’.”
Mrs Carmichael said people were obsessed with her daughter’s gender and "private parts".
“What is between my daughter’s legs has nothing to do with anyone else,” she said.
“What I really find irritating is when they say, ‘But she looks so much like a girl. I turn around and say, ‘She is a girl’. So many people have things to say about her gender when it's irrelevant to their lives.
“It definitely would be discussed behind my back. I’m not a closed-off person. I’m open to questions. I don’t really care what anyone says. As long as my child is happy and they don’t say anything to her, it doesn’t bother me.”
Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow told 9news.com.au the Sex Discrimination Act made it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of their gender identity, appearance, mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics.
“People who are transgender and gender diverse have the right to live free from discrimination,” Mr Santow said.
“We know there is still much work to be done as transgender and gender diverse people continue to experience discrimination and other barriers.”
*Briella Carmichael gave permission for 9news.com.au to use her old name.