by Gwendolyn Ann Smith
A recent nationwide survey of transgender-identified people conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality in conjunction with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force provided some very sobering statistics about the state of being transgender today.
It's hard to digest all these numbers no matter how they were presented, let alone the rapid-fire "live tweeting" from the Creating Change conference that first introduced me to them. No matter how you look at them, they're hardly flattering.
Much of it – due to the upcoming fight for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and maintaining transgender inclusion – focuses on the job market. Out of 6,450 people surveyed, half experienced direct harassment at work due to their gender identity or orientation. Half had their confidentially violated by their employer. A quarter were fired. A fifth were removed from direct client contact. Nearly half were asked inappropriate questions about their gender identity or orientation, and nearly half again had to deal with inappropriate pronoun use.
As a result, transgender and gender non-conforming people are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to the rest of the U.S. population, and those who did lose a job over their transition found it hard to find another. Many also faced a reduction in wages.
For those living in poverty who needed to use a homeless shelter, nearly a third were denied access, and a quarter were assaulted and harassed by shelter staff.
Things were no better in schools, either.
Two-thirds of all transgender or gender non-conforming elementary school students endure harassment, with nearly a quarter of them facing that harassment not only from other students, but from school staff. In middle school and high school, harassment and assaults crept up to two-thirds, but dropped to one-third for college students.
One in five have some form of health care, and half of all surveyed had to educate their primary care provider about transgender issues.
One other grim statistic: four out of 10 transgender people have attempted suicide.
Now there is an old saying about "lies, damned lies, and statistics." I'm sure that even with such a wide sampling size and geographic spread, some will say that there's a flaw somewhere in the methodology. Yet when I look at these statistics, I am struck by how much these jibe with mine and others' own stories.
I've faced my share of issues at work, from the relatively minor – an incorrect pronoun here and there – to the downright appalling. In one case, I had a co-worker who would leave transgender-themed reparative therapy materials and other goods sponsored by his church in my work area. I have lost a job over my gender identity, and have found out first-hand how hard it is for a transgender person to get a job. It is especially bad, in my opinion, in this economy: It is all that easier to justify not hiring me when you have no shortage of non-transgender candidates to choose from.
In my elementary school days – albeit many years have passed between them and this survey – I faced regular harassment and assault due to simply not fitting in well enough to the gender I was assigned to at birth. Had I been more outwardly willing to expressed my gender, I suspect I would not be around to talk of it today. And yes, when I did address this to the staff all those years ago, I was sent to the school's psychologist.
I've been – and am – below the poverty line. So far, I've been fortunate enough to avoid the shelters, but I've had plenty of friends who have faced harassment at some.
I do have health care through my spouse, but I will admit to being more than a little afraid to use it – I can only imagine how quickly being transgender might be tossed up as an un-coverable "preexisting condition."
Oh yes, and I have considered suicide. More than this, I have lost friends to suicide, and know quite a few who have tried. If anything, four in 10 almost seems too low compared to my own experiences.
So now we have these statistics: what can we do with them? Share them.
The more that know there is a problem, the more likely change can be affected. But don't just share them amongst our community and allies – take them to the media, present them to our detractors, and call your congressperson and demand transgender protections in ENDA. Let us make it clear that ENDA is indeed something that will help improve our lot in life.
ENDA will still be an uphill battle. It will face strong opposition from conservatives and – if past performance is any guide – weak Democrats will be more than willing to pare transgender protections off of the ENDA tree in order to appease the right.
Of course ENDA alone won't stop harassment, either. It is an important step, but only one of many. The law can only cover so much in what has to surely be an institutional change – but such change does not happen on its own, and awareness of statistics like the above by the majority of people, as well as laws enacted to alleviate the issues will help move things forward.
Decades ago, there were no studies like this to compare these numbers to. We cannot look back and say, "We've improved." Yet, maybe the next time this study is done, things will be better – and maybe, too, this will be due to all of our work to educate others. If not for us, let's improve the chances for those who will come later.
