The child has changed his name to a commonly-used male name, and uses male pronouns to describe himself.

A former New Zealand doctor and her ex-husband are locked in a legal battle over whether their pre-teen child should be able to undergo gender transition treatment.

The case has thrown the light on the rights of New Zealand youth wanting to undergo gender transition, with a legal expert saying the same scenario could play out here.

The mother, father and child cannot be named due to suppression orders, with the child called J.K. in court documents.

A recent judgment by Justice Ron Skolrood​ in the Supreme Court in British Columbia details J.K.'s struggle - the struggle of an 11-year-old child born female, but wanting to halt their puberty as part of their gender transition.

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J.K. identifies as male, has changed his name to a commonly-used male name, and uses male pronouns to describe himself.

The case is technically between the boy's two parents, with the father attempting to block the mother's decision to allow J.K. to take the puberty-suppressing drug Lupron​.

But the judge said the case "is really about J.K. and his role in determining his own future".

J.K. was born in 2004, five years after his parents married, and was identified as female.

His mother worked away from home, and ended up moving to New Zealand to pursue medical training after she separated from her husband in 2006. J.K. lived with his mother for some time in New Zealand.

The parents divorced in 2008, remarried in in 2011, with J.K. living in British Columbia from April that year, but divorced again in January 2015.

It was agreed J.K. would live with his mother after the second divorce, but the parents would share responsibility for parenting issues.

J.K.'s mother said her son began displaying masculine tendencies at an early age, and became distraught when trying on sport tank tops and sports bras after beginning to develop breasts.

Referrals to medical and psychological experts ended with J.K. being given puberty blockers, which are injected once a month.

J.K. had had two doses of the blockers by the time his father applied for a court order to stop the treatment.

The mother believed she had kept the father informed, but the father believed steps were taken without his consent.

He also opposed his son being appointed a lawyer, because he believed the lawyer was part of a group of transgender activists who were directing his son.

University of Otago dean of law Professor Mark Henaghan​ said he was not aware of a case exactly like J.K.'s playing out in New Zealand courts.

There had been Family Court fights between parents over a child's medical issues and issues around gender transition would likely take the same path, he said.

"If the same thing happened here, basically, parents are still guardians and can fight over that."

A child had to be 16 or older before they could make their own decision about medical treatment, he said.

Rainbow Youth executive director Duncan Matthews said some young people wanting to transition had supportive parents, but others had been kicked out of home.

While feeling for children with parents who did not want them to transition was natural, it was also important to think about the parents, he said.

"They may spend six months researching before accepting themselves, but then they tell their parents, and it's the first the parents have heard of it."

More people were rejecting traditional gender roles, meaning there were growing groups of people to approach to discuss gender issues with, Matthews said.

"If you are a young person and your parents aren't listening to you, just keep asking.

"Even in small town New Zealand, you will find someone."

Parents could also seek help from support groups and counselling services if they were struggling to understand their child's want to transition genders, he said.