Can this friend of mine ever be the girl he is inside?

Ever since this friend, Api, was born, he always identified with female things though male. As he grew, he preferred doing and having things feminine. At 11, he admitted he wanted to be a girl, and even put on girl's clothes and makeup. In high school at 14, it was hard for him. He was constantly mistaken for being homosexual, but really he wanted to be a female. There were cruel people there who always said things that made him depressed and suicidal. He said people said things to him like, "God hates homosexuality, so why do you believe in him?" Even people beatun him up just because they assume he's homosexual. He had a abusive step dad 2008 - 2013 who used to beat on him and purposely said he was gay and even his family started thinking he was too. Api tried explaining to them that he was transgender, but nobody understands or cares at that place it seems. At 18, some people even pretended to be his friend, just to sexually abuse him too. "I lost count.." was how many times it happened. Now 23, he still deeply desires to be female, but the way the different abuse happened for years and with no support being told he's someone he knows he's not, it's hard. Imagine the trauma of going through beatings and ridicules, the paralyzing fear from knowing others were able to become the girl they wanted as young as 12 by THEIR families, and the depression and suicidal thoughts that occur from the rapes and thoughts that you may never become how you really are inside. "If I can never become how I want happily, with people who love me for who I really am, then why should I live anyways?" was what he said that hurt even me when we talked about his dream since birth of being female. "Maybe friends who said that they wanted to help me be successful that I used to go to church with wouldn't have left my side too, if only I would've been who I really am inside." Please help..