The mental health of the UK’s transgender community is at a crisis point, with many people “hanging on a rope”, professional bodies and support groups have told The Guardian.
The stark warnings follow a week of intense public discussion about transgender rights as the government moved to exclude trans people from a ban on conversion practices.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission also published a guide saying that transgender people could legitimately be excluded from single-sex services if the reasons were “justifiable and proportionate”.
The focus on such issues has raised concerns among experts, who see a direct line between statements made by politicians and individual well-being. “There is strong evidence that minorities experience higher levels of stress when their rights are debated,” said Dr Adam Jowett, chair of the British Psychological Society’s Section on Sexualities.
“The mental health of the trans community has been affected not only in the last week but in recent years: by the perception that the government is hostile to the rights of trans people, the feeling that they are not protected and the The fact that this is happening against a backdrop of rising hate crimes and transphobia.”
Jowett carried out research for the UK government into conversion practices last year before his consultation on the ban.
He stressed that all UK medical and psychological bodies, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Medical Association, were united in the view that the practice was unethical, potentially harmful and unsupported by evidence.
“We believe that it is absolutely necessary that transgender people have the same level of protection as everyone else.”
Last week, support services for trans people reported a spike in demand: anti-abuse charity Galop, for example, said it was receiving calls to its helpline “from trans people who feel exhausted and discouraged by his exclusion from the government. proposed conversion therapy ban, and the surrounding conversation on social media and in the news.”
Meanwhile, individual families have contacted The Guardian privately to express their despair at what was described as “a perfect storm of transphobic misunderstanding and misinformation, which is harming the very vulnerable young people they claim to protect.”
“All LGBT young people, but especially trans young people, are experiencing a mental health crisis,” said Dominic Arnall, chief executive of Just Like Us, a UK charity that works with schools to support LGBT+ young people. “It is fueled by the constant trickle of negativity from the government, the media and others, creating a climate that says they are not worthy of the same human rights and freedoms that the rest of us enjoy.
“The last week in particular has been tremendously difficult for trans youth. They hear the prime minister describe conversion therapy as ‘abhorrent’ but then not ban it for trans people.”
Oscar Hoyle, who runs Blossom, a support service for LGBT+ young adults in Surrey, said: “You can’t look at a computer without seeing something that questions a fundamental aspect of who you are.
“It puts the young people we work with in a position where they never know who is going to support them and who is going to question who they are.
“Members of our community are struggling and I know from experience that the mental health of a large number of trans and non-binary people right now is certainly hanging in the balance,” they said.
But they added: “As trans people, I think we develop a really unique sense of resilience, which means that no matter what we face, our community will keep moving forward. Things are incredibly difficult, but I don’t want to underestimate the true value of our community, the broader LGBTQ+ community, and the allies who come together to support and uplift trans people.”
This exclusion of transgender people from the ban on conversion practices led to the resignation of a senior equality advisor and Cancellation of government flagship LGBTQ+ international conference in the face of a massive withdrawal of support from stakeholders.
Boris Johnson later stated that “biological males” must not compete in women’s sporting events and that women should have “dedicated” spaces in hospitals, prisons, and locker rooms.
This latest statement reflects new, non-statutory guidance issued by the EHRC on single-sex services. Critics argue that this focuses on the exclusion of trans people, and specifically trans women, who are at risk of unlawful discrimination. The guide was welcomed by critical gender feminists as “a big step forward”.
Helen Belcher, president of the education and advocacy group TransActual and a Lib Dem councillor, said: “I am furious that our equality body tells me that I am a second-class citizen and that I can only do things if everyone else agrees. that. Now every trans woman in the country is preparing to fight to pee. It’s disgusting
“I made the transition about 20 years ago. In the first few days you feel very vulnerable, as if your appearance is being scrutinized, but then your confidence grows. But in recent months all that fear has returned, the same feelings that I thought I left behind 20 years ago.
