HRC Publishes New Data Detailing How Unsafe Trans Teens Feel at School

According to a new report released this week by the HRC, only 16 percent of trans youth feel safe at school, an alarming but unfortunately unsurprising statistic. The findings, released in association with the University of Connecticut, focus on the experiences of 5,600 transgender and gender-expansive youth who participated in HRC's 2017 LGBTQ Youth Survey.

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According to the study, less than 25 percent of trans youth feel they can be themselves at home. 72 percent are exposed to negative talk about LGBTQ people by their parents. Trans and gender-expansive youth are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted because of their identities than their cis peers. 42 percent have received physical threats at school and 51 percent never use the restroom at school that aligns with their gender identity.

The survey also includes statements from trans youth, who contextualize and give an emotional weight to HRC's findings. "I simply am not comfortable with coming out because I am scared I will be persecuted for it," said one participant. Another, who attends a Christian school "where everyone signed a contract saying they aren't LGBTQIA+, and I'd be expelled if I came forward."

"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," said Acting HRC Senior Vice President Jay Brown. "No child should have to wake up in the morning fearful of rejection, bullying or discrimination, but for far too many transgender and gender-expansive youth that remains an everyday reality. 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."