Research is asserting that those who identify as transgender are more likely to struggle with mental health issues than their cisgender peers. Science News compiled some eye-opening statistics about this in the piece excerpted below about how transgender children may be especially affected by the new administration’s choice not to pursue policies protecting them in public schools. We invite you to read the excerpt and click through to the full story, and if you recognize yourself or someone you love in this story and live in the greater Cleveland area, we hope you’ll reach out.
Amid a flurry of cabinet appointments and immigration policies, the Trump administration has announced one thing it will not do: pursue policies that protect transgender children in public schools.
The Feb. 22 announcement rescinds Obama administration guidelines that, among other protections, allow transgender kids to use bathrooms and participate in sports that correspond with their genders, and to be called by their preferred names and pronouns.
In a Feb. 23 news briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that this is a states’ rights issue. “States should enact laws that reflect the values, principles, and will of the people in their particular state,” he said. “That’s it, plain and simple.”
But this “plain and simple” move could be quite dangerous, even deadly, science suggests. Transgender children, who are born one biological sex but identify as the other, already face enormous challenges as they move through a society that often doesn’t understand or accept them. Consider this: Nearly half (46.5 percent) of young transgender adults have attempted suicide at some point in their lives, a recent survey of over 2,000 people found. Nearly half. For comparison, the attempted suicide rate among the general U.S. population is estimated to be about 4.6 percent.