‘Sharp rise’ in trans youth suicide attempts in states that passed anti-trans laws, study says
A protestor holds up a sign that reads “trans rights are human rights.” (Getty)
States that passed anti-trans laws aimed at young people have had a “very sharp” rise in suicide attempts by transgender and gender-non-conforming youngsters, according to the latest research.
The study by LGBTQ+ youth charity The Trevor Project, published on Thursday (26 September) in the Nature Human Behaviour journal, revealed that suicide rates among trans teenagers living in states that passed anti-trans laws increased by as much as 72 per cent after the legislation was passed.
In 2023 alone, an estimated 508 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in 49 states in the US, with gender-affirming care, access to toilets, participation in sports, and changing gender markers on official documents all on the line for trans people. While not all the proposed legislation became law, experts said simply the threat of it severely affected the mental health of young transgender people.
The latest data came from a sample of 61,240 young people in 19 states which passed anti-trans laws between 2018 and 2022. The Trevor Project compared rates of suicide attempts before and after bans took effect.
There was a small rise in suicide attempts soon after the laws were enacted, followed by a larger rise in the two or three subsequent years. Among 13 to 17 year olds, two years after an anti-trans law took effect, the likelihood of a suicide attempt in the previous 12 months was 72 per cent higher than before the bill was signed into law.
Ronita Nath, the vice-president of research at the charity, told NPR that the they prioritised this study because of the need to “very firmly establish causality” to prove the negative mental health effects of the legislation.
“We found a very sharp and statistically significant rise in suicide attempt rates after enactment of the laws,” she said.
Trans and non-binary young people are “not inherently prone to increased suicide risk” because of who they are, but the risk of mental health conditions and suicidal ideation can be increased by “how they’re mistreated and stigmatised by others, including by the implementation of discriminatory policies like the ones examined in the study”, Nath went on to say.
“These findings demonstrate that, regardless of a person’s political beliefs, if you live in a state that has passed an anti-transgender law, transgender, non-binary young people in [that] state are significantly more likely to attempt to take their own life.
“This is the reality for these young people, and it’s not acceptable.”
In the years following the study period, there has been another increase in the number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, with states including Missouri, Arizona, Florida, and Tennessee now restricting or banning gender-affirming care for young transgender people.
This is despite a poll last year showing that the majority of Americans oppose anti-trans laws. The research found that white, evangelical Christians, Republicans, and parents of children under the age of 18, were most likely to be supportive of such restrictions.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
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