TW// suicide, transphobia, sexual violence against minors
References
The Trevor Project. (2019). Victimization [Graph]. The Trevor Project Research Brief: Data on Transgender Youth.
The Trevor Project. (2020). LGBTQ youth who have considered suicide [Graph]. National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health 2020.
The Trevor Project. (2020). Youth who have attempted suicide among those who considered [Graph]. National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health 2020.
Presentation Script
Hello everyone! Before we begin, I would like to provide a quick content warning. I will be discussing issues involving suicide, transphobia, and sexual violence against minors. I will quickly mention the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Trevor Project for anyone who is looking for resources.
Transgender individuals have marginally higher suicide and suicidal ideation rates than their cisgender counterparts. A 2020 survey conducted by the Trevor Project shows, 52% of trans youth have considered suicide, while 41% have reported attempting. Comparing this to cisgender youth, with lower risk (The Trevor Project, 2020). Many studies have covered the LGBTQ+ experience to understand why these rates are higher. Still, they do not provide various solutions or preventative measures to support trans youth. My compilation of research aims to fill this gap and provide solutions geared towards the trans community in North Carolina.
For this research, the terms “youth” and “adolescent” will encompass the range between ages 13 and 24. Trans youth experience these high suicide rates due to victimization. Looking at this figure, we can see that trans youth report sexual violence, brandishing, and unsafe environments. Not on the graphic are societal stigma, substance abuse, and are typically at an increased risk for HIV, STIs, and pregnancy (Andrzejewski et al., 2020).
To reduce these rates, one element I propose to incorporate and promote is inclusive “sex ed” websites. Inclusive care would include safe-sex explanations for LGBTQ+ partnerships, information regarding hormone therapy, and other gender-affirming care. Suppose this population is given inclusive care in an easily digestible format like a website. In that case, they can avoid negative health outcomes and avoid subsequent negative impacts on their mental health (Andrzejewski et al., 2020).
Another option involves a larger societal change. You may remember the discussion and attention surrounding North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act or HB2, passed in 2016. This bill forced the use of public restrooms and locker rooms that corresponded with the same sex listed on an individual’s birth certificate. These “bathroom bills” are extremely harmful to the mental health of these adolescents. Negative impacts include PTSD-like symptoms, societal stigma, verbal harassment, and assault. I propose to eliminate bills that deny equal access (Wienhardt et al., 2017).
A scale can be used to assess the cultural competency of policymakers and administrators so that they can better serve LGBTQ+ youth. This scale is called the Queer Youth Cultural Competency Scale. Using the scale will allow officials to focus their efforts on improving and better tailoring their decisions for the benefit of this community. Incorporating this scale may prevent the passing of harmful “bathroom bills” (Gandy-Guedes, 2018).
These are all preventative measures that can be taken to support this community. As time progresses I hope we all see some change in North Carolina for the benefit of trans youth.
Explication of Research
Compared to their cisgender counterparts, transgender individuals have marginally higher suicide and suicidal ideation rates. A 2020 survey conducted by the Trevor Project shows, 52% of trans youth have considered suicide, while 41% have reported attempting. Comparing this to cisgender youth, with lower risk (The Trevor Project, 2020). Many studies have covered different aspects of the LGBTQ+ community’s experience to understand why these rates are astronomically high. Still, they do not provide various solutions or preventative measures to support transgender youth. This study aims to answer the question: what policies or preventative measures can reduce suicidal ideologies/suicide rates in transgender youth? This research will fill the gap and focus on preventive measures and solutions geared towards the transgender community in North Carolina. These proposed methods include inclusive SRH (sexual reproductive health) websites, incorporating the queer youth cultural competency scale (QYCC) into policymakers/administrators’ workplaces, and equal access to public facilities.
Planned Parenthood defines the term transgender as “the term for the many ways that people’s gender identities can be different from what they were assigned at birth” (Planned Parenthood, 2022). This research will focus on youth and adolescents who describe themselves as transgender or not as a part of the typical gender binary. For the purposes of this study, the terms “youth” and “adolescent” will encompass the range between ages 13 and 24. It is well understood and documented that transgender youth experience these high suicide rates due to victimization from peers, family, or community members. Victimization includes sexual violence, brandishing, threats, unsafe environments, societal stigma, substance abuse, and they are typically at an increased risk for HIV, STIs, and pregnancy. This sort of victimization negatively impacts the mental health of transgender individuals putting them at risk for developing disorders pertaining to anxiety and depression along with suicidal ideation, self harm, and suicide (Andrzejewski et al., 2020).
To help reduce these rates, one element I propose to incorporate and promote is inclusive “sex ed” websites. These inclusive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) websites could be promoted in a school environment during sexual education classes and incorporated into already existing popular SRH databases. Inclusive care would include safe-sex explanations for LGBTQ+ partnerships, information regarding hormone therapy, and other gender-affirming care. Suppose this population is given inclusive care in an easily digestible format like a website. In that case, it would be easier for them to avoid negative health outcomes like STIs, HIV, unintended pregnancy since education would promote safety catered to them. Teaching youth about the options of gender-affirming care would reduce the impact of gender-dysphoria which lead to adverse mental health impacts. It may also be useful to incorporate explanations for different gender identities and sexual orientations into these SRH websites. While “umbrella terms” like LGBTQ+, are normally used for simplicity’s sake, it is important to provide explanations for more complicated and nuanced terms for defining gender and sexuality. This allows for all individuals to feel included and identified by the gender and sexuality spectrum. More inclusive SRH websites are needed to provide equal sexual wellness education for transgender youth. This will decrease victimization by decreasing instances of STIs, HIV, unintended pregnancy, and promote equal education among all adolescents using SRH websites (Andrzejewski et al., 2020).
Another option I would promote involves a larger societal change. You may remember the discussion and attention surrounding North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act also known as HB2, which was passed in 2016. This bill forced the use of public restrooms and locker rooms that corresponded with the same sex listed on an individual’s birth certificate. These “bathroom bills” are extremely harmful to the mental health of these adolescents. They perpetuate societal stigma and give reason for biased individuals to target and potentially harm transgender youth. Negative impacts recorded from these bills include PTSD-like symptoms, verbal harassment, and assault. The proposed solution to this would inversely be the removal of said bills and the promotion of inclusive access. Inclusive access would provide protection not only physically, but mentally. Not having to worry about using gendered public facilities may decrease anxiety surrounding societal and community pressure placed on these individuals to “pass” in a typical gender binary (Wienhardt et al., 2017). Wienhardt summarizes this idea: “(bathroom bills) attempt to restrict public bathroom use for TGNC youth, creating less choice and more stress and fear among these individuals” (Weinhardt et al., 2017, p. 140).
A scale can be used to assess the cultural competency of policymakers and administrators so that they can better serve sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth. This scale is called the Queer Youth Cultural Competency Scale (QYCC). The creators who designed the scale describe it as: “(an) improvement over other available measures […] a scale designed to measure the amount of SGM-related knowledge, attitude, skill, and awareness” (Gandy-Guedes, 2018, pp. 368-369). It was created to originally measure the competency of behavioral health workers who wish to be involved in the treatment of sexual and gender minority youth. The researchers who designed the scale aimed to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their scale but treat each issue as two different factors so that individuals can determine their competency of each factor separately. I propose that this scale be used to assess the cultural competency of policymakers and administrators so that they can better serve LGBTQ+ youth. Starting small with North Carolina administrators gives the scale a sort of “test run” to see if this will foster any impactful change. This will allow officials to focus their efforts on improving and better tailoring their decisions for the benefit of the trans community. Incorporating this scale may prevent the passing of other harmful “bathroom bills” (Gandy-Guedes, 2018).
These proposals are all preventative measures that can be taken to support the young transgender community in North Carolina. Implementing these solutions could show a significant decrease in suicide and suicidal ideation among transgender adolescents. Staring small with the transgender community in North Carolina could show progress and create a hype around transgender activism, popularizing specific solutions and proposals. As time progresses I hope we all see some change in North Carolina for the benefit of transgender youth and significantly lower rates of suicide in this population.
References
Andrzejewski, J., Rasberry, C. N., Mustanski, B., & Steiner, R. J. (2020). Sexual and reproductive health web sites: an analysis of content for sexual and gender minority youth. American Journal of Health Promotion, 34(4), 393-401. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890117119899217?utm_source=summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider.
Gandy-Guedes, M. E. (2018). The queer youth cultural competency (QYCC) scale: measuring competency in direct-care behavioral health workers. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 30(4), 356-373. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10538720.2018.1516171.
Planned Parenthood. (2022). Transgender identities. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/transgender.
The Trevor Project. (2020). National survey on LGBTQ youth mental health 2020. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/?section=Introduction.
Weinhardt, L. S., Stevens P., Xie, H., Wesp L. M., John, S.A., Apchemengich, I., Kiko, D., Chavez-Korell, S., Cochran, K. M., Watjen, J. M., & Lambrou, N. H. (2017). Transgender and gender nonconforming youths’ public facilities use and psychological well-being: a mixed-method study. Transgender Health, 2(1), 140-150. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2198022552/fulltextPDF/CA4514CF033340A8PQ/1?accountid=14244.
Featured Image Reference
Paskova, Y. (2018). Demonstrators outside the historic Stonewall Inn in New York, New York, on October 21, 2018 [Photograph]. Open Society Foundations. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/perilous-moment-transgender-people-united-states.