September 2012
August 2012
Play
National Transgender Discrimination Survey [Report from Black Respondents]: →
thetaskforce.org
I’ve highlighted the most important parts of the study for you all to read:
Discrimination was pervasive for all respondents who took the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, yet the combination of anti-transgender bias and persistent, structural and individual racism was especially devastating for Black transgender people and other people of color.
- Black transgender people live in extreme poverty with 34% reporting a household income of less than $10,000/year. This is more than twice the rate for transgender people of all races (15%), four times the general Black population rate (9%), and over eight times the general US population rate (4%).
- Black transgender people are affected by HIV in devastating numbers. Over one-fifth of Black respondents were HIV-positive (20.23%) and an additional 10% reported that they did not know their status. This compares to rates of 2.64% for transgender respondents of all races, 2.4% for the general Black population, and 0.60% of the general US population.
- Nearly half (49%) of Black respondents reported having attempted suicide.
- Black transgender people who were out to their families found acceptance at a higher rate than the overall sample of transgender respondents.
- 50% of Black respondents who attended school expressing a transgender identity or gender non-conformity face harassment.
- Half (51%) reported discomfort seeking police assistance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Black transgender people had been arrested or held in a cell due to bias at some point in their lives.
- Physical and sexual assault in jail/prison is a serious problem: 29% of Black respondents who had been to jail or prison reported being physically assaulted and 32% reported being sexually assaulted while in custody.
- Health outcomes for Black respondents show the appalling effects of social and economic marginalization, including much higher rates of HIV infection, smoking, drug and alcohol use and suicide attempts than the general population.
- 21% of Black transgender people reported being refused medical care due to bias. Over half of Black transgender people reported having postponed care when they were sick or injured due to fear of discrimination (34%).
- Black transgender people had an extremely high unemployment rate at 26%, two times the rate of the overall transgender sample and four times the rate of the general population.
- Thirty-two percent (32%) of Black transgender people lost a job due to bias and 48% were not hired for a job due to bias.
As you can see, trans* issues ARE race issues.