A TRANSGENDER woman from Dumbarton who has been driven to the brink of suicide following abuse from the public has claimed members of her community are too scared to leave their own home.

Melinda Gordon, who was born male but says she knew she was a girl at five years old, wants to raise awareness about how tough she says life can be for transgender people in the area.

The 27-year-old claims she has been the victim of death threats in the past and is still subjected to cruel comments and disapproving looks around the town.

She says the attitudes of some people needs to change, claiming there are a number of transgender people in Dumbarton who feel they cannot leave their own home for fear of how they will be perceived.

And she hopes to meet with public figures to voice her concerns and put the wheels in motion for a strong support network.

Melinda, who began her hormone therapy around two years ago, said: “Not a lot of people are accepting of the subject. The other day I was walking around town in my heels, one man looked at me as though he wanted to crucify me. I felt so small.

“A couple of years ago I was getting death threats. I’ve tried to commit suicide. I suffer from anxiety and depression.

“I still get bullied. People will come up and say things to me like I ‘should have been killed at birth’. It’s really awful.

“If people just sat down and took the time to listen they would understand more about it.

“I would just like to express that we are still human. Just because we have changed gender doesn’t make us alien.”

Melinda told the Reporter that growing up knowing she was in the wrong body made her school days incredibly difficult.

The budding entrepreneur, who is currently setting up her own retail business, said: “I knew straight away I wanted to be a girl. I was nuts about a boy in my class, but I didn’t know what the feeling was. In my head I would be screaming.

“I’m from an all-Catholic family, and Dumbarton had a very backwards way of thinking. It was isolating and scary “Going through male puberty when I was in my teens was psychologically scarring.

“Back then there was no name for it. I came out as gay at 18. I knew I wasn’t but it was easier to say.”

After battling with her secret for years, at age 23 Melinda finally found the courage to share her true self with her grandmother – and was overcome with relief when her family accepted her news.

“When I told my mum I said, ‘You are going to disown me’. I told her I was transgender, male to female - she didn’t know what that was. When I explained she just put her arms around me.”

Melinda then began to share her story through social media to help others.

And now she hopes to arrange a meeting with Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie She said: “I’m hoping to talk about creating a transgender support group here in Dumbarton. There are a lot of people who feel like they can’t leave their house.

“I feel normal and free when I’m in Glasgow, it should be like that everywhere. I should be allowed to walk free as the real me.”

Ms Baillie said: “I think we have come a long way in changing attitudes right across Scotland but clearly there is more that can be done. A support group would have a positive impact and I look forward to meeting with Melinda."

A West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership spokesperson said: “Transphobia of any kind is utterly unacceptable and there is no place for it in our society.

“We are determined to make West Dunbartonshire a welcoming, inclusive and safe place for everyone and we would be happy to speak to Melinda about her ideas on how we can help support the transgender community.