Seven out of ten trans people have suicidal thoughts

Seven out of ten trans people have had suicidal ideation and three out of ten have made suicide attempts, that is, to take their own life. These are data from a sample of an average of 26 years that is put on the table by the Transaludes study, the first national investigation in Spain on the health of trans and non-binary people, carried out by the Carlos III Health Institute ( ISCIII). “These data are especially worrying in such a young population, and show that training the system to care for the mental health of the group is not only necessary, but urgent,” said María José Belza, an ISCIII scientist who led the research, during its presentation this Tuesday at the Ministry of Health.

The study, which involved the participation of 1,823 trans and non-binary people aged 15 and older, also refers to the mental health problems that these people face. 47.5 percent of those surveyed have been diagnosed with anxiety in recent months; 39.6 percent, depression. Additionally, just over half of those surveyed say they cannot meet their mental health needs for financial reasons.

The research puts on the table the difference between these disorders in the group compared to the general population and finds that these diseases affect trans people 40 percent more. However, the data they use for comparison with the general population is from 2017, so it is very likely that they are far from current reality.

The team that led the research relates these figures in mental health problems with the violence and discrimination that trans people say they suffer in almost all cases. Specifically, 62.5 percent say they have been victims of verbal threats and 47 percent say they have suffered physical attacks. Eight out of ten regret that these situations have left them with consequences on their well-being, such as anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide or sleeping problems.

Sexual violence

The study also warns about the high rates of sexual violence suffered by these people. “These data are much higher than those of the people who finally come to report and show the need to develop prevention, detection and protection programs against discrimination and violence towards trans and non-binary people in all areas,” say the researchers.