The first comprehensive national study on transgender discrimination found widespread financial, social and emotional devastation from the pervasive harassment transgender Americans face.
The National Transgender Discrimination Survey included input from 6,450 transgender and gender nonconforming people from all 50 states who represented a wealth of ages, races and backgrounds.
“Injustice at Every Turn,” an initiative that began in 2008, was spearheaded by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality, with the collaboration of Penn State University’s Consortium on Higher Education and Dr. Susan Rankin.
Approximately 63 percent of respondents reported having experienced at least one “serious act of discrimination” — such as school bullying severe enough to result in dropping out, housing eviction or job loss.
Mara Keisling, executive director of NCTE, called the results “heartbreaking on a personal level.”
“Each of these facts and figures represents pain and hardship endured by real people, every single day,” she said.
Employment
Among the findings, the report revealed that transgender individuals are twice as likely to face unemployment, with 14 percent of respondents unemployed compared with the 7 percent national unemployment rate at the time the survey was conducted.
About 90 percent of survey respondents have faced harassment, mistreatment or discrimination in a workplace. Nearly half faced an adverse job outcome because of their gender identity, and more than a quarter reported losing a job because of being transgender or gender nonconforming.
More than 70 percent of participants said they tried to hide their transition to avoid discrimination, although 78 percent of those who transitioned said they felt more comfortable with themselves once the transition was complete. About 16 percent of respondents said they sold drugs or participated in sex work to avoid workplace settings.
Financial, housing insecurity
The report found that transgender Americans are four times more likely than the general population to have a household income of less than $10,000.
The majority of respondents reported a household income of between $20,000-$50,000, while the general population averages between $50,000-$100,000. Just 14 percent of participants reported incomes of more than $100,000, a category that 25 percent of the general population falls into.
Only about 1.7 percent of respondents were homeless at the time of the survey, but that figure is double the national average.
Home ownership was also drastically different than the general population, with 32 percent of participants listing themselves as home- or condo-owners, compared to the national average of 67 percent.
Nineteen percent of respondents said they had been denied housing because of their gender identity, and 40 percent had to move into a less expensive home or apartment because of discrimination. Approximately 19 percent of respondents said they have at one time been homeless because of discrimination, more than 2.5 times the national average.
Education
Education was the only section analyzed in which the transgender respondents fared better than the general population, with 87 percent having taken some college courses or attained a college or graduate degree, compared with 55 percent of the general population.
The study did, however, also look at the connection between school harassment and income later in life.
Those who reported being harassed during school were much more likely to report lower incomes, with about 20 percent of those earning less than $10,000 having experienced mistreatment in school, compared to 12 percent of transgenders who did not and 4 percent of the general population.
Health, family implications
Respondents reported widespread obstacles to healthcare on account of gender identity, with nearly 30 percent saying they avoided medical care when sick because of fear of discrimination.
About 19 percent reported having been refused care because of their trans status, with 28 percent saying they were harassed in medical settings. Care providers also lacked awareness of transgender issues, as half of the respondents said they had to educate their doctors about transgender medical issues.
More than 2.6 percent of the sample population reported being HIV-positive, a figure that is more than four times the national average.
The rate of attempted suicide was also staggeringly high, with 41 percent of respondents having attempted it at some point. The study noted that the federal government estimates that 1.6 percent of the general population has attempted suicide, although that figure only applies to the previous year, not throughout a lifetime.
Attempted suicide rates were highest among those under 44. Attempt rates also were higher among people who had been harassed by teachers in a school setting and those with low incomes, with 54 percent of those earning less than $10,000 having reported an attempted suicide.
About 57 percent of participants reported family rejection because of their gender identity, and that population was at much higher risk for health challenges than those who maintained family bonds.
Racial disparities
Racial minorities were at much higher risks for negative outcomes associated with their gender identity.
African Americans and Latinos faced higher levels of discrimination in all categories explored, and also reported lower incomes and education levels. Black respondents were four times as likely as the overall sample to participate in sex work, and reported an HIV-infection rate nearly 10 times the survey average.
Respondents of color also reported vastly higher levels of discrimination in police interactions. About 22 percent of respondents said they were harassed by police because of their identity, but that figure rose to 38 percent for African Americans and 36 percent for those who are multiracial. Of respondents who were incarcerated, 7 percent were held in a cell alone because of their gender identity, but that figure jumped to 41 percent for African Americans and 21 percent for Latinos.
Moving forward
The survey asked respondents their top policy priorities, with most ranking employment discrimination highest, followed by more trans-inclusive health insurance, hate-crimes laws and healthcare policies.
NGLTF executive director Rea Carey noted that these issues and many others addressed in the report require a concerted effort by LGBTs, allies and policymakers.
“By shedding light on the discrimination that transgender Americans face, this study poses a challenge to us all,” she said. “No one should be out of a job, living in poverty or faced with subpar health care simply because of their gender identity or expression. The scope of the problem is clear, and now we must come together to solve it.”
The NCTE’s Keisling added that the comprehensive survey should be a call “to the conscience of every American who believes that everyone has the right to a fair chance to work hard, to have a roof overhead and to support a family. Equality, not discrimination, is the ideal that Americans believe in, have fought for and need to apply for.”
To access the full report, visit www.thetaskforce.org.