Trans youth and families across Texas have already begun reaching out to the organization’s crisis services amid unlawful investigations.
March 2, 2022 — The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people, released the following statement today in response to the District Court of Travis County’s issuing of a temporary restraining order preventing Texas Department of Family and Protective Services from enforcing the governor’s unlawful directive to investigate families who support their transgender and nonbinary children with gender-affirming medical care. While the court’s order applies specifically to the plaintiffs in this case, a hearing has been scheduled for Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. CST to decide whether to block the Governor, Commissioner, and DFPS’s actions more broadly.
If you or your family are facing an investigation, you have the right to file a complaint with the Department of Health & Human Services here.
“We are relieved for the moment to see the District Court of Travis County place a temporary hold on the unlawful ‘child abuse’ investigations into Texas parents and healthcare professionals who support transgender and nonbinary youth. The Trevor Project remains steadfast in its position that this guidance is invalid and unconstitutional. We are optimistic that judges will continue to see the governor’s action for what it truly is — a politically-motivated opinion that will only pit the government against loving families, teachers against students, doctors against patients, and neighbors against neighbors,” said Sam Ames (they/them pronouns), Director of Advocacy & Government Affairs for The Trevor Project. “Transgender people and our allies will fight this, and we will win. And, in the meantime, The Trevor Project’s counselors will continue to provide 24/7 crisis services to any young person caught in the middle of this political battleground who needs our support. You are not alone.”
The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that more than half (52%) of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 1 in 5 attempted suicide. Additionally, only 1 in 3 trans youth found their home to be gender-affirming. However, research consistently shows that transgender and nonbinary youth who have accepting parents and/or access to gender-affirming care report lower rates of attempting suicide.
Access to gender-affirming medical care, like gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), has been found to be significantly linked to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth. A 2021 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that receiving GAHT was associated with nearly 40% lower odds of recent depression and of a past-year suicide attempt among young people under age 18.
Further, a 2021 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project’s researchers, published in Transgender Health, found that acceptance of one’s gender identity from adults and peers was associated with significantly lower odds of attempting suicide among transgender and nonbinary youth. Transgender and nonbinary youth who reported high gender identity acceptance from a variety of adults had significantly lower odds of attempting suicide in the past year, including: from their parents (43% lower odds), from other family members (49% lower odds), from school professionals (33% lower odds), and from health care professionals (32% lower odds).
According to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project, 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth — and two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth (66%) — say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health. When asked about proposed legislation that would ban doctors from prescribing gender-affirming medical care like puberty blockers or hormone therapy, 73% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 57% felt sad, 47% felt stressed, 40% felt scared, and more than 1 in 3 felt hopeless, helpless, and/or nervous.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
About The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.
