In May 2015, the University of British Columbia released a study, Being Safe, Being Me, that highlights several important findings about transgender youth. The main conclusion is that if transgender youth have supportive families, they are “about four times less likely to have self-harmed in the past 12 months.” Additionally, if they feel supported and safe at school, they are twice as likely to report good mental health.

Key findings:

• Eighty-three per cent of participants lived in their “felt gender” at least part-time; half lived in their felt gender full-time. Those who lived in their felt gender all the time were almost 50 per cent more likely to report good or excellent mental health.
• Nearly two-thirds of youth reported self-harm within the past year. More than one in three had attempted suicide.
  Seventy per cent of participants reported sexual harassment. Two-thirds reported discrimination because of their gender identity.
• More than one in three, or 36 per cent, of the younger participants (ages 14-18) had been physically threatened or injured in the past year.
• One in three youth did not have an adult in their family they could talk to about problems, and seven in 10 felt their family did not understand them. When they felt cared about and supported by family, they reported better health.
  Only 15 per cent of youth with a family doctor report feeling comfortable discussing their transgender-specific health care needs.
• One-third of younger (ages 14-18) and half of older youth (ages 19-25) reported missing needed physical health care during the past year, and even more missed needed mental health care.

At first glance, there’s really no new-news here, but it is important for us all to take note and consider how we can support our transgender friends, family and community members. We are obligated to make the people around us feel safe in their own community so that they can do their best to find peace in their own skin.