AMAV VICDOC SUMMER 2023 - Magazine - Page 26
There need to be better efforts,
at the individual, organisational,
and policy-making level, to create
environments of support, which
will make vital differences in
improving the lives of trans people.
—
375 Transgender People
Murdered In 2021-‘Deadliest
Year’ Since Records Began.
Discrimination and violence against trans, and
all LGBTIQA+, people remains depressingly
prevalent. Trans people in the US are 4 times as
likely as their cisgender peers to be a victim of
violent crime; while data is limited in Australia,
it is known that the trends here echo that of the
US, with higher rates of family violence, sexual
assault, physical assault, and verbal abuse.
Additionally, 33% of trans people report
employment discrimination, with the
unemployment rate of trans people also 3 times
the national average. Trans children also face many
difficulties; they are more likely to experience
homelessness, family conflict, and child abuse,
and shelters for children are often poorly trained
and equipped to provide a space for those who are
trans. The legal and government systems, instead
of providing respite, continue to provide further
stressors. Conversion therapy for LGBTIQA+
people in Victoria was only criminalised this
year, despite the known trauma that arises from
these practices, which many trans people will
be carrying with them. Surgeries necessary for
the alleviation of gender dysphoria are also only
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available privately, meaning that many may not
be able to receive healthcare they need; despite a
federal government petition which received almost
150,000 signatures, no moves to publicly fund these
surgeries have
been made.
Whether societal, legal, or otherwise, the
minority stress this community experiences leads
to worse mental health outcomes. 73% of trans
people in Australia report depression in their
lifetime, 67% anxiety, 63% previous self-harm,
and 43% suicide attempts.
Trans people will carry these burdens, this
trauma, with them when they approach the
healthcare system; discrimination and abuse
within this system is, however, another
disappointing reality. 15% of Trans people have
experienced verbal abuse within a healthcare
setting, 6% ‘unwanted sexual contact’, and 2%
have been physically attacked. Approximately
20% of trans people have been refused healthcare,
8% refused healthcare because they are trans.
Finally, more than half ‘had to teach [their]
doctor or healthcare provider’ in order to receive
appropriate care. All this leads to avoidance of
the medical systems; 41.3% of trans people in
Australia avoid emergency departments because
they are trans.