02/03/2024
The past few days have been filled with disbelief, outrage, and fear. The government that is supposed to be working for Albertan's best interests has instead decided to remove our rights, under the guise of protecting the rights of parents. Danielle Smith has claimed that she wishes to be inclusive and eliminate discrimination for the trans community, yet her proposed legislation tells the opposite.
As an educational advocacy organization, we're going to give you some statistics and some of the latest research regarding the transgender community, youth in particular.
A study was completed in 2018 that linked a reduction in suicidal ideation by 29% and a reduction in suicidal behaviour by 56% to the simple act of using someone's preferred name. (Russell, S. T., Pollitt, A. M., Li, G., & Grossman, A. H. (2018). Chosen name use is linked to reduced depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior among transgender youth.
Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(4), 503–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.02.003 )
In 2023 Phillip Graham, at the University College in London, England, found that by the age of 7 children can understand three separate concepts relating to s*x and gender identity: biological s*x, self-perceived gender identity, and social gender identity. Graham also found that while a majority of children do develop their gender identity in line with what is assigned at birth, children who do identify with the opposite gender identity do so around the age of 3-4. (Graham, P. (2023, April). Transgender Children and young people: How the evidence can point the way forward. BJPsych bulletin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10063975/ )
The Trevor Project, based in the USA, completed a study in 2022 consisting of 34000 participants between the ages of 13 and 24. 48% of these participants were transgender or non-binary. Of this percentage:
45% seriously considered attempting su***de (14% of these did make an attempt in the 12 months leading up to the study)
60% who wanted to access mental health supports could not
*48% cited they were afraid of discussing their concerns
*45% cited they were afraid of having to get permission from
their caregivers
*43% cited they were afraid they would not be taken seriously
When legislation was introduced in the USA (similar to what is being proposed by Danielle Smith):
93% of participants were worried about access to affirming medical care
91% worried about access to bathrooms
83% worried about access to sports
(2022 national survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. The Trevor Project. (2022). https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/ ***de-by-race )
We at PRISM condemn this proposed parental rights legislation and we ask the Alberta government to do better. To be better, for the good of all of their citizens, not just the UCP supporters. Let's leave this province a better place for the next generation and show our children that we do support them, in ways that won't increase these numbers.
The development of gender identity in children from around the age of 3 years is described. Wishes for transgender identity are distinguished from gender-atypical behaviour. Reasons for the recent rise in transgender referrals in the early teen years ...
