US, MA: Survey Findings Shine Spotlight on Widespread Discrimination
http://masstpc.org/?p=1245
Survey Findings Shine Spotlight on Widespread Discrimination
Massachusetts Transgender Residents Experienced in Nearly Every Area of Life
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04 February 2011
Contact: Gunner Scott
1617 778 0519
gscott@masstpc.org
Boston, MA [04 Feb 11]- The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is announcing the newly released Massachusetts findings from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The survey results showed that, across the board, transgender residents of Massachusetts experienced widespread discrimination in nearly every area of life. The survey contained questions about employment, education, economic insecurity, housing, harassment and discrimination in accommodations and services, health care, and bias-motivated violence.
In employment, 76% of survey respondents reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job, 39% of qualified applicants were not hired, 17% were denied promotions, and 20% lost their job.
“These survey results validate what we have known anecdotally as MTPC frequently receives calls from transgender community members who have experienced discrimination,” said Gunner Scott, MTPC’s executive director.
In addition to these calls, MTPC’s groundbreaking multi-media public education campaign, I AM: Trans People Speak, has allowed transgender individuals to tell their stories, many of which have been about the discrimination transgender people have faced. In one interview Ty, transgender man from the Northampton area, discussed his struggle to find work, despite being qualified for the positions he applied for. In another, Lorelei, a transgender woman from Holyoke, discussed the continued low-level discrimination she experienced while on the search for work. Many other transgender men and women interviewed for the project talked about being fired or the fearing they would be fired when they disclosed their transgender status or their intention to transition on the job. This discrimination in the workplace has lead to economic insecurity for transgender individuals. This was also evident in the in the Massachusetts findings of survey as transgender respondent reported household incomes of $10,000 or less, three times the rate of the general population.
Harassment and physical violence at school are a daily reality for many transgender youth. In educational settings, there were alarming rates of harassment (79%), physical assault (31%), and sexual assault (11%) reported for transgender or gender non-conforming students in K-12. Harassment was so severe that it led to 11% of students leaving school in K-12 and higher education settings. This was also noted by parents Ken and Marcia Garber who both talked about the continued harassment that their transgender son experienced at school in their interviews for I AM: Trans People Speak.
Harassment and discrimination was also reported in public accommodations and services. Over half of respondents were verbally harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation or service including hotels, restaurants, buses, airports and government agencies. Half of respondents reported that they were uncomfortable seeking police assistance when needed, likely due to the fact that 24% of those surveyed that had interacted with the police reported harassment by police officers.
As the results of the survey show, health care discrimination is rampant, and access to adequate healthcare is rare. Of the respondents, 14% were refused medical care due to their gender identity or expression, while 25% postponed needed medical care when they were sick or injured due to discrimination. The transgender community also experiences a disproportionate suicide rate, with 35% reporting they have attempted suicide at some point in their life, a percent that is 22 times the rate of the general population (1.6%).
Survey respondents were also asked about bias-motivated violence specifically in educational settings, at work, in interactions with police and with family members, homeless shelters, accessing public accommodations, and in jails and prisons. In these situations 18% of survey respondents reported having been physically assaulted due to their gender identity or expression and 7% were sexually assaulted in one of these contexts because of their gender identity and expression. While the survey did not inquire about bias-motivated violence in other areas of life, such as while walking down the street or riding public transit, MTPC has found, from intake calls and those interviewed for I AM: Trans People Speak, that this also occurs frequently.
The survey findings shine a spotlight on the reality of many transgender individuals in Massachusetts, which is that they face daily discrimination at work, in public accommodations, in securing housing, in education, and in accessing healthcare. In order for discrimination to decrease and the quality of life for the transgender youth and adults in Massachusetts to increase, transgender people and their families need to be granted equal opportunities in all aspects of life through legal protections. Without legal protections, hardworking people like Lorelei and Ty are denied jobs and they continue to struggle to support their families and to secure adequate housing.
In order for transgender youth and adults to have the same opportunities and be free from discrimination, MTPC is working to pass “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” Passage of this law would make the protection of transgender youth and adults explicit, uniform, and visible to the general public. Through the inclusion of gender identity and expression in the state’s non-discrimination statutes and amendment of the existing hate crime laws, transgender people and their families would be able to enjoy the same protections other Massachusetts residents currently receive.
For more about I AM: Trans People Speak please visit http://transpeoplespeak.org/
For more about “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights” and to download a copy of the Massachusetts findings from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey please visit http://www.masstpc.org/legislation
About MTPC: Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.
Survey Findings Shine Spotlight on Widespread Discrimination
Massachusetts Transgender Residents Experienced in Nearly Every Area of Life
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04 February 2011
Contact: Gunner Scott
1617 778 0519
gscott@masstpc.org
Boston, MA [04 Feb 11]- The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is announcing the newly released Massachusetts findings from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The survey results showed that, across the board, transgender residents of Massachusetts experienced widespread discrimination in nearly every area of life. The survey contained questions about employment, education, economic insecurity, housing, harassment and discrimination in accommodations and services, health care, and bias-motivated violence.
In employment, 76% of survey respondents reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job, 39% of qualified applicants were not hired, 17% were denied promotions, and 20% lost their job.
“These survey results validate what we have known anecdotally as MTPC frequently receives calls from transgender community members who have experienced discrimination,” said Gunner Scott, MTPC’s executive director.
In addition to these calls, MTPC’s groundbreaking multi-media public education campaign, I AM: Trans People Speak, has allowed transgender individuals to tell their stories, many of which have been about the discrimination transgender people have faced. In one interview Ty, transgender man from the Northampton area, discussed his struggle to find work, despite being qualified for the positions he applied for. In another, Lorelei, a transgender woman from Holyoke, discussed the continued low-level discrimination she experienced while on the search for work. Many other transgender men and women interviewed for the project talked about being fired or the fearing they would be fired when they disclosed their transgender status or their intention to transition on the job. This discrimination in the workplace has lead to economic insecurity for transgender individuals. This was also evident in the in the Massachusetts findings of survey as transgender respondent reported household incomes of $10,000 or less, three times the rate of the general population.
Harassment and physical violence at school are a daily reality for many transgender youth. In educational settings, there were alarming rates of harassment (79%), physical assault (31%), and sexual assault (11%) reported for transgender or gender non-conforming students in K-12. Harassment was so severe that it led to 11% of students leaving school in K-12 and higher education settings. This was also noted by parents Ken and Marcia Garber who both talked about the continued harassment that their transgender son experienced at school in their interviews for I AM: Trans People Speak.
Harassment and discrimination was also reported in public accommodations and services. Over half of respondents were verbally harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation or service including hotels, restaurants, buses, airports and government agencies. Half of respondents reported that they were uncomfortable seeking police assistance when needed, likely due to the fact that 24% of those surveyed that had interacted with the police reported harassment by police officers.
As the results of the survey show, health care discrimination is rampant, and access to adequate healthcare is rare. Of the respondents, 14% were refused medical care due to their gender identity or expression, while 25% postponed needed medical care when they were sick or injured due to discrimination. The transgender community also experiences a disproportionate suicide rate, with 35% reporting they have attempted suicide at some point in their life, a percent that is 22 times the rate of the general population (1.6%).
Survey respondents were also asked about bias-motivated violence specifically in educational settings, at work, in interactions with police and with family members, homeless shelters, accessing public accommodations, and in jails and prisons. In these situations 18% of survey respondents reported having been physically assaulted due to their gender identity or expression and 7% were sexually assaulted in one of these contexts because of their gender identity and expression. While the survey did not inquire about bias-motivated violence in other areas of life, such as while walking down the street or riding public transit, MTPC has found, from intake calls and those interviewed for I AM: Trans People Speak, that this also occurs frequently.
The survey findings shine a spotlight on the reality of many transgender individuals in Massachusetts, which is that they face daily discrimination at work, in public accommodations, in securing housing, in education, and in accessing healthcare. In order for discrimination to decrease and the quality of life for the transgender youth and adults in Massachusetts to increase, transgender people and their families need to be granted equal opportunities in all aspects of life through legal protections. Without legal protections, hardworking people like Lorelei and Ty are denied jobs and they continue to struggle to support their families and to secure adequate housing.
In order for transgender youth and adults to have the same opportunities and be free from discrimination, MTPC is working to pass “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” Passage of this law would make the protection of transgender youth and adults explicit, uniform, and visible to the general public. Through the inclusion of gender identity and expression in the state’s non-discrimination statutes and amendment of the existing hate crime laws, transgender people and their families would be able to enjoy the same protections other Massachusetts residents currently receive.
For more about I AM: Trans People Speak please visit http://transpeoplespeak.org/
For more about “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights” and to download a copy of the Massachusetts findings from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey please visit http://www.masstpc.org/legislation
About MTPC: Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.