The National Center for Transgender Equality has partnered with the League of United Latin American Citizens to bring us a closer look at the Latin@ respondents of their critical and groundbreaking National Transgender Discrimination Survey, and the findings show some pretty sobering truths about the reality of being Latin@ and Trans. Trans Latin@s were among the most vulnerable of the survey’s respondents to harassment, abuse, and violence; often live in extreme poverty; and were affected by HIV in devastating numbers.
The vast majority of Latin@ respondents with experience being transgender students reported harassment in school, and many reported physical and/or sexual assault in school. In fact, 21% reported harassment so severe that it led to leaving school altogether. The data also show that respondents who were harassed and abused by teachers in K-12 show worse health outcomes than those who did not report such abuse.
Perhaps the most devastating piece of information garnered from this new analysis is that 47% – nearly half of all respondents – reported having attempted suicide. We have got to do better. The combined forces of racism, xenophobia and transphobia are devastating to the health and lives of trans folks in our communities, and we must work to eliminate these structural barriers. This is reproductive justice – we must work towards salud, dignidad y justicia for everyone in our communities.
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