GINA DENHAM, 52, COMMUNITY POLICING TEAM SGT, ESSEX
I remember being just five and feeling “right” when I put on girl’s clothes while playing with a cousin. Those feelings grew and at the age of 12, I was angry and jealous of the girls at school who were starting puberty. My feelings didn’t change. I watched a programme called Sex Change when I was a teenager and realised it could have been about me. I tried to block the feelings out and later got married and became a father. In 1993, I joined the police service and threw myself into the job — it became my focus.
But, a few years later, curiosity got the better of me and I went on a journey of discovery, searching about trans people on the internet. My wife helped me look for answers because I wanted to be honest with her. It was frightening and we learnt of the risks; most couples split up when a partner is trans. But my wife was and is my soulmate and the love of my life; to contemplate splitting up mortified me.