Commentary

CDC graphic on LGB youth violence sparks debate about trans inclusion

CDC graphic on LGB youth violence sparks debate about trans inclusion
According to the CDC, LGB youth face higher rates of violence than their straight peers. Photo: CDC
That transgender youth face higher rates of violence may seem obvious to many in the LGBTQ community. But statistics give credibility to the facts of our lives. That’s why we look to research bodies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to gather accurate and thorough data.

So when the CDC shared an infographic about the violence faced by “LGB” youth, many transgender people and their allies cried foul and accused the government agency of erasing the experiences of trans youth.

The infographic highlights a recent CDC study that found lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth faced higher rates of bullying and harassment than their straight peers, that they are three times as likely to experience sexual assault, and that 40 percent had contemplated suicide, with nearly a third attempting it.

The only statistics missing? Transgender youth.

My first thoughts were that the CDC were attempting to recognize the differences between sexual minorities and gender identities. That would make sense, right? Nobody likes it when the “T” is tacked onto things that don’t address transgender issues.

My optimism shifted, however, when CDC’s social media representative responded to the disapproval by saying that while transgender youth were included in the study, they didn’t have a question to capture their responses.

“Thanks for all of the great questions and comments related to why transgender youth are not included in the infographics,” the CDC wrote. “Transgender youth are included in all Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS). However, we do not have a question to identify them.”

The CDC went on to explain why crafting a functional question is harder than it sounds.
“The challenge is developing a credible gender identity question that is appropriate for students and consistent with the YRBS question format,” they wrote. “We are working on developing and testing a question on gender identity. This is an important next step to determine if YRBS can be a good source of data on the transgender population. We are committed to preventing violence before it happens among all youth.”

I couldn’t understand why the CDC wouldn’t have just included a simple “What is your gender identity question?” Also the word “appropriate” in reference trans students was really poor wording if not blatantly transphobic. So I looked up the survey.

Here’s what I’ve found. The YRBS, or the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, is a frequently used survey format. What’s great about using the same survey across multiple populaces over time is that you can contrast and compare data with ease in the future. This reasoning is probably why they are still working on the best way to ask folks about being transgender.

Another roadblock might be the fact that there are ever-evolving ways to ask about gender identity, and the way we ask about gender identity in 10 years will most likely be completely different. Trying to box up gender fluidity into tiny classifications is going to be a task. While the delay is annoying to some, the CDC is probably attempting to develop the questions so that the answers can be used for years to come.

When I read the statement I heard researchers who claim that they are working on a way to include trans folks but should have probably prefaced the results and the infographic with that knowledge. The absence of trans youth in the infographic coupled with a lack of acknowledgement of the survey’s limitations makes it look as though the CDC doesn’t believe transgender youth face violence and discrimination.

Which is the furthest thing from the truth. And the trans community really needs data like this survey in order to gain equal rights.

Debi Jackson, a trans youth advocate who is best known for the viral video “That’s Good Enough,” says leaving trans youth out of the survey results is unacceptable regardless of the reasoning.

“I don’t believe their excuse about bureaucracy. There are numerous ongoing studies about trans youth taking place at the moment, and results have been published by both LGBT organizations, like, GLSEN’s bi-annual School Climate Survey which was released Wednesday, and by researchers in the medical field,” she explains. “They could have reached out to any one of those groups to get assistance in creating their questions. They should have tried harder because trans people are dying at alarming rates and violence against them is likely to rise with continued political rhetoric.”

She went on to say that she was happy to see an outpouring of support for trans youth in response to the survey.

“Trans youth desperately need to be validated,” she says.

My hope is that the CDC recognizes their mistake and the fact that an especially vulnerable part of the LGBT community is in dire need of validation and statistics. We can’t be upset with the CDC for presenting the information they have accurately, have but we can demand and put pressure on them to add data about trans lives and to do so quickly.

Transgender people and allies understand how tiring it can be to educate people after we feel dismissed by them. It can be tempting to simply write off organizations and people who are careless about the inclusion of gender identity. I don’t know if the CDC could have made their questions inclusive of gender identity and obtained the type of statistics they wanted to. What I do know is they could have at the very least recognized that transgender kids face severe discrimination and that they were working on a way to include them in the study.

I hope that the LGBT community holds the CDC accountable but doesn’t simultaneously discount the work that they did come out with. We absolutely need better data on trans youth, but the increase in information about LGB youth is a good thing. From the statistics, things look bleak for them right now, too.

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