Born This Way. Photo by Callen Harty.
2/21/17
Dear President Trump,
I have heard reports that the White House is considering rescinding Department of Education guidelines regarding transgender rights for school districts across the United States. I am pleading with you as an adult who works with LGBT students to please leave the guidelines in place for the protection of transgender students.
I presume you are aware that violence against transgender citizens is among the highest against any minority group in this country. If not, please note the following: According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), in 2013 72% of the victims of hate violence homicides were crimes against transgender women (particularly transgender women of color). Transgender people were also almost four times as likely to suffer from police violence and transgender women were almost twice as likely to suffer sexual violence. The report did not list the number of transgender suicides, but the numbers of that are also alarming, particularly among young transgender people who not only struggle with the common issues of adolescence but the much larger issues of identity and the discrimination that follows because of that identity.
In a report by the Human Rights Campaign 2016 saw the largest number of transgender homicides ever and, again, their statistics do not consider suicide. Our group lost one of our high schoolers to suicide last year and I never want to see that happen again. To anyone, and especially young people who should just be starting on a long journey through life. Taking away the guidelines will leave school district administrators confused about what protections they can offer their transgender students and it will send a loud message to transgender youth that their lives do not matter to the administration or the American people.
Transgender lives do matter. The young man we lost to suicide was an intelligent, articulate teen leader who had incredible gifts to offer the world. We will never know what he may have accomplished with his life. The Williams Institute in a 2014 analysis of the National Transgender Discrimination Study found that 78% of those who experienced physical or sexual violence at school reported at least one suicide attempt. 57% whose families had stopped talking to or having contact with their transgender family member after they came out as trans had attempted suicide. And yes, families do stop talking to LGBT youth or sometimes kick them out and make them homeless. I have seen this happen to teens who simply wanted to be themselves. These young people do not need further obstacles put in their way or protections taken from them.
If, as reported, you are considering rescinding the guidelines I strongly urge you to reconsider. Put yourself in the shoes of a young person who has to come to terms with their own identity and then face bullying, harassment, discrimination, and violence as a daily part of their lives simply for trying to live as their true selves.
