• IT is not possible in a 600-word opinion piece to explore every strand of such a complex issue.

The intention of my Forum piece (Unite in the defence of women’s spaces, October 27) was to say that trans women are women and not men because until that basic starting point is accepted, the fear of trans women “taking up” women’s spaces will remain.

The by-product of that fear is stigma and my opinion piece was attempting to remove that stigma.

The complex issue of the Tavistock demands a far longer response. It is possible that a new kind of therapy is needed for people presenting with gender dysphoria.

I would imagine it is hard – and sometimes impossible – to determine for sure whether, when you have someone in front of you saying they have always felt uncomfortable in their own body, to determine whether it is a passing or permanent feeling.

The problem is, too, that any hormone treatment, in particular for transitioning women, is more successful the earlier started as the body is younger, less developed, and more receptive.

On the other hand, the younger someone is the higher the risk they may change their mind. The less successful stories at the Tavistock are the realisation of that risk.

But as I say, my short opinion piece was simply about Ladies loos being safe and gender affirming spaces for trans women. It was an attempt to take away the unfounded fears around that.

Until people accept that trans women are women and not “men in heels” any serious debate can’t move forward.

EMMA GOLDMAN