The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation and the University of Connecticut released a new report detailing the challenges and barriers that transgender and gender non-conforming youth around the country, according to HRC.
The findings focus on the experiences of these young people both at school and home. These findings were drawn from the 5,600 transgender and gender-expansive youth who participated in the 2017 LGBTQ Youth Survey.
HRC and the UConn researchers found that less than a quarter of transgender and gender non-conforming youth feel comfortable enough to be themselves at home, and less than a quarter feel they can definitely be themselves at school. The findings found that 72 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming youth reported that they have heard their families make negative remarks about LGBTQ people.
Sixty-nine percent of transgender and gender expansive youth reported having received unwanted sexual comments, jokes, and gestures. These young people are reportedly twice as likely to be sexually assaulted or raped because of their identities, either actual or perceived, than their cisgender counterparts.
Sixteen percent of transgender and gender expansive youth reported always feeling safe at school, and 42 percent have received physical threats due to their gender identity. The research also found that 51 percent of these young people never use gender-confirming bathrooms at school.
Acting Senior Vice President of the HRC Foundation, Jay Brown, said about the results, “Amidst an onslaught of political attacks on the rights and dignity of transgender people, these harrowing results reinforce that transgender and gender-expansive youth need action and need it now.”
“No child should have to wake up in the morning fearful of rejection, bullying, or discrimination, but far too many transgender and gender-expansive youth that remains an everyday reality,” he continued, “All of us must meet these young people’s perseverance with our own persistence as we fight to build welcoming schools and affirming communities for youth of all gender identities.”
In May, HRC released the 2018 LGBTQ Youth Report detailing the findings of the 2017 LGBTQ Youth Survey. This survey had 12,000 LGBTQ respondents, ages 13-17, nationwide. This report contained information on feelings