Report - Transgender Teens: The Fight to Live



Warning: There are mentions of bullying, harassments, and mental illnesses including depression. There are also reports of suicidal thoughts and actions. Please avoid reading if these could affect you and please seek help if you feel anything close to this. Numbers will be listed at the end of this report.


This essay, produced as a report, presented a topic close to my heart. As a member of the LGBT+ community, I find it essential to fight for the rights of those who have been marginalized, terrorized, and erased from the world. Transgender individuals are faced with constant harassments from family, friends, the world for identifying as their true gender rather than the gender they were assigned at birth.

My report focused on transgender teens, perhaps one of the most vulnerable groups of trans individuals. There are an estimated 1.4 million adults (Deschamps & Singer) nationally that present as trans [gender]. That number is roughly adults. Which mean there could be even more teens that cannot express themselves yet or simply have gone unaccounted for.

I focused on the harassments, bulling, and mental health problems transgender teens faced daily for presenting themselves.

"The National School Climate Survey in 2015 found staggering numbers to prove this. The data indicated “that approximately 64.5% of transgender students report experiences of verbal harassment, 24.9% report physical harassment, and 12.0% report physical assault based on their gender expression” (Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, & Danischewski, 2016).  Transgender students cannot even find a break at school, the institution they are required to be and thought to be protected." 

This means that students cannot find peace at school, the only place they may be allowed to express themselves a bit more freely than compared to home. I also found exactly what transgender teenagers suffer from:

  • - “2/3 of trans teens have depression and suicidal thoughts” (Womens Health Weekly). This study consisted of 107 who were female to male, 46 male to female, and 4 non-binary (not identifying with any gender) adolescents. This means out of 153 participants, 104 wanted to inflict harm on themselves. 
  • - “that about 85% of transgender adolescents reported "seriously considering suicide," while over half of transgender adolescents attempted suicide” (Marshall).   

American Academy of Pediatrics



Center for Suicide Prevention

By all accounts, transgender individuals realize it easier to express who they better identify with and come to terms with it in a safer society, but often the path holds its own challenges. Data proves that trans individuals suffer not only from society's grappling but from their own minds demons that try to control them everyday. Transgender teenagers suffer greater because they are still developing who they are and how they want to live and often perceive themselves to be wrong in societies eyes. Overall, more support needs to be provided to transgender teens that suffer in silence. 
You do not have to struggle alone. There are more resources then ever before created to provide help and support to individuals. Here are some numbers you can call if you feel yourself sinking:

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK) | website
    • Veterans in crisis, press “1” to be directed to local VA resources
    • Deaf, hard of hearing TTY and chat options here
    • En Español, call 1-888-628-9454

  • Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741-741 | website

  • Lifeline Crisis Chat: Visit their website to learn more and chat

  • LGBT National Hotline: 888-843-4564

  • Sage LQBT Elder Hotline: 888-234-7243





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