A new distressing report from the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force details the physical, mental and emotional repercussions transgendered individuals face due to their “othered” status in the United States today. One of the most alarming statistics shows that the rate of suicide attemps among transgendered individuals is 26 times higher than that of the rest of American society.
An except from the report reads, “In 1995, D.C. resident Tyra Hunter died from entirely treatable injuries incurred in a car accident. First, the firefighters who arrived at the scene stopped emergency medical treatment once they cut away her clothes to discover male genitalia…Once they stopped joking around and got her to the emergency room, the doctor refused to treat her. She died there of blunt force trauma and medical negligence. Fifteen years after Hunter’s death, the survey’s numbers still stink: 19 percent of respondents reported being refused care because of their gender identity or expression, with even higher figures for respondents of color. Nearly 3 percent reported being attacked in emergency rooms.”
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