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New survey seeks updated data on trans experience

Are cultural changes impacting people’s lives?

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National Center for Transgender Equality, gay news, Washington Blade
National Center for Transgender Equality, gay news, Washington Blade

Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality Mara Keisling (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Amid increased transgender visibility and pro-trans policy changes at the federal level, a leading transgender advocacy group is seeking to recreate an influential survey to monitor developments in the trans experience.

Four years ago, the questionnaire — titled “Injustice at Every Turn” and jointly organized by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force — was the most extensive survey ever taken of the transgender community and found widespread anti-trans discrimination.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said her organization is renewing the survey to obtain updated data years later.

“The survey data is used by all activists, almost all journalists, so we wanted everybody to have the most up-to-date data,” Keisling said.

According to NCTE, as of Friday, a total of 12,000 people have committed online to taking the survey — almost double the 6,400 who took the 2011 survey. Keisling said she doesn’t have a goal in mind for the new survey other than an increased number of respondents and outreach to populations such as seniors and people of color. Transgender people can register here to take the survey, which will be online Aug. 19.

“Honestly, we want to see if things are improving,” Keisling said. “It’s been five years. There seems to have been a lot of cultural and policy movement, and we want to see if that’s impacting people’s lives.”

Among the findings of the survey in 2011: Transgender people faced double the rate of unemployment, nine-in-10 say they experienced harassment or discrimination on the job and 19 percent said they were refused housing because of their gender identity.

Many of the questions in the new survey would be the same, but others will be added for more complete data on the trans experience. For example, one question on the 2011 survey found 41 percent of respondents reported attempting suicide and another found one-fifth experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. The updated survey will include follow-up questions on whether these incidents of suicide and homelessness occurred in the past year for more accurate data.

Another new change is redirecting those who complete the survey, which will be anonymous, to a form allowing them share personal stories of anti-trans discrimination. The intent is to add the sense of personal experience for potential use in advocacy work at a later time.

Keisling said the personal story option portion of the survey will add to efforts for advocacy on transgender rights not just on Capitol Hill, but in state capitols and media situations.

“Everybody can opt out of that if they want, but it’s just really important for advocacy to be able to tell real people stories and to be able to find individuals who can come forward and tell their own stories,” Keisling said.

In 2011, the transgender survey was a co-project of NCTE and what is now the National LGBTQ Task Force. This time around, the Task Force has stepped aside to keep the project within NCTE.

Rea Carey, executive director of the Task Force, said in a statement to the Blade her organization is excited about the survey and supporting the launch, but opted to leave it to NCTE.

“Together, the National LGBTQ Task Force and NCTE agreed that NCTE would be the sole producer of the report this year and we look forward to seeing the results,” Carey said. “Like our work together on Injustice at Every Turn, NCTE, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and our movement will be able to use the data to continue to make the case for increased attention to the needs of all transgender people.”

Also contributing to the research team for the survey is Jody Herman, scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute, University of California, Los Angeles. As a consultant to the project, she’s working on survey question design to ensure it’s on par with federal surveys and will help with analysis once data is gathered.

“We’re going to design a public use data set so the data can be made available to other organizations or researchers, academics, so they conduct their own research with the data set, so I’m hoping it’ll fuel another wave of research about transgender people,” Herman said.

One reason for renewing the survey is the lack of information on transgender people in the American population at the federal level. Although the Department of Health & Human Services has included sexual orientation questions in health surveys, questions about gender identity have not been included.

Keisling said most information about groups of people in the United States comes from federal government initiatives, which she called “the gold standard for data,” but she said information is lacking for LGBT people.

“One of the most disappointing things about the federal government currently, and there has been so much progress on LGBT issues in the Obama administration…but still we do not have the federal government data for trans people, or even gay, bi people, or just queer people in general,” Keisling said. “We just don’t have them studying us as they should be yet. We’re going to keep pushing for that, but until then, we’re going to have to be collecting our own data.”

It seems unlikely a transgender-related question will be added to the questionnaire the U.S. Census Bureau distributes every 10 years and anticipated in 2020 because that survey will be reduced to a short form. Instead, transgender advocates are pushing for inclusion in the American Community Survey, the annual survey with more extensive questions.

Keisling said there are dozens of other surveys to which LGBT questions could be added, including many conducted by the Department of Health & Human Services. The best way to look at the issue, Keisling said, is through agencies. Just last week, she said she had a meeting with the Bureau of Justice Statistics within the Justice Department.

“There’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s the National Center for Health Statistics, there are just so many, and there’s just a very small few now that are beginning to count LGBT people,” Keisling said.

Jamal Brown, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management & Budget, responded by saying policymakers for years have collected data on LGBT populations, but acknowledged more work remains.

“LGBT people are not uniform, with experiences shaped by a diversity of factors including age, race, gender, socioeconomic background, education, and disability,” the spokesperson said. “And without improved data, there’s no way to adequately describe these differences and what they mean for LGBT Americans.”

But Brown said an interagency review is underway to evaluate federal data gathering for LGBT people and “develop recommendations that will inform federal statistics in the future.” The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs held its first interagency meeting on the issue April 9.

Once the data from the latest transgender survey is obtained, Keisling said she expects it to show where anti-trans discrimination exists and that it will help lead the way to fixing it.

“But we’re also going to disseminate the information to the state LGBT groups, to local HIV service organizations, the federal government probably will use the survey in different ways and the media, which has become such an important public education around trans issues, will be no doubt using the survey,” Keisling said.

Keisling said much like the 2011 questionnaire, she predicts the survey will reveal the problems facing transgender people are compounded when they’re part of racial minority groups because of persistent racism.

For example, the 2011 survey found black transgender people live in a significantly higher rate of poverty. Thirty-four percent reported a household income of less than $10,000 a year. That’s more than twice the rate for transgender people of all races (15 percent), four times the general black population rate (9 percent) and more than eight times the general U.S. population rate (4 percent).

But Keisling said the data from the updated survey will “absolutely” be a tool to help ameliorate those compounded problems going forward.

“When you’re trying to move forward, it’s important to understand where you are and which moves forward are the most urgently needed, and this survey will really help with that,” Keisling said.

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Federal Government

RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth

‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.

The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.

“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”

While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.

The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”

Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.

“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”

GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”

Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.

“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.

“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”

“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”

“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.” 

Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.

“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”




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The White House

Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador

Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

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U.N. headquarters in New York (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.

Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”

“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.

Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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U.S. Federal Courts

Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy

Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.

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Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.

The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”

Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.

“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.

Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.

The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.

Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”

Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.

“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”

“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.

Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.

Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.

The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.

Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.

A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order.  The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.

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