Lack of Equitable Resources in Virginia Transgender Youth

1. Brief Descriptions of the Issue and the Group of People It Affects

Transgender people are persons whose gender identities, gender behaviors, and expressions do not follow the sex they assigned at birth. Violence, stigma, and discrimination in public spaces such as healthcare facilities and schools, together with economic, social, and political factors, immensely impact the physical, behavioral, and mental wellbeing of transgender youth, denying them access to resources, including education and access to health care. Discrimination against LGBTQ youth is one of the primary contributing factors to unevenly high rates of mental illness and socio-emotional distress compared to cisgender and heterosexual youths (Parris, Fulks & Kelley, 2021). This study explores the lack of equitable resources in Virginia transgender youth, mainly focusing on health care and education disparities.

Healthcare Inequality among Virginia Transgender Youth

            Transgender youths face significant health care disparities in multiple dimensions. Perceived and real discrimination and stigma within health care provision and biomedicine affect the transgender youths’ ability and desire to access appropriate health care (Safer et al., 2016). Transgender women, denoted as MTF (Male to Female), are recognized as the world’s largest population with a disproportionate burden of HIV infections, accounting for 20% HIV prevalence globally. In the U.S., the transgender population exhibits higher rates of clinical depression at more than 44%, anxiety at over 33%, and somatization at 27%. Besides, studies show that transgender youths are at 41% higher risk of attempting suicide, twenty-six times than the general population (Feldman et al., 2016). While many of these healthcare barriers impact other minority populations, they are unique. The majority of them are considerably magnified for transgender youths.

            In Virginia, like in other U.S. states, inequalities in healthcare access often emanate from circumstances not openly linked to transgender identity or healthcare system but are motivated by the wider social determining factors of health, including education, social, and economic status (Heiman & Artiga, 2015). Besides, the oppressive structures, including sexism, transphobia, and sexism, influence transgender works, live, the food they access, and how society treats them in their environment.

Education Inequality among Virginia Transgender Youth

Study shows that many transgender students across Virginia and U.S experience harassment and discrimination at colleges, which impact their academic success and future employment prospect. The United States Transgender Survey (USTS) study of more than 27,000 transgender students established that 24 percent of students perceived as or were out as transgender persons experienced physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, with about 16% abandoning their education of harassment (Goldberg, 2018). Further studies indicate that transgender students also face numerous barriers to college attendance, including financial hurdles and lack of financial aid, forcing most of them to leave school. Transgender women and students of color are more likely to experience these barriers than their counterpart whites. About 19% of transgender first-year scholars recounted difficulties funding their college education relative to 12% of the overall population. Most of these transgender students come from low-income households (Goldberg, 2018). Several factors have been cited for contributing to healthcare and education disparities among transgender youths. The subsequent sections below explore social determinants contributing to healthcare and education disparities among transgender youths.

Family Rejections

The high prevalence of rejections from the families is a critical factor in disparities in health care access and outcomes and education among the transgender population. Study shows that about 44% of transgender youths are physically hurt by their parents during their childhood at least once compared with 25% of cisgender heterosexual youths. About 57% of transgender people, compared to 22% of cisgender heterosexual youth, have a conflicted association with their parents and are more bullied at a younger age. According to the report United States Transgender Survey, 8% of transgender youths are chased away from their homes for being transgender, and 10% decide to run away from home because of humiliation (James et al. 2016). These links’ findings show that 30% of transgender youths have experienced homelessness at their younger age, which rises to 51% for African American transgender women (Klein & Golub 2016). In short, most transgender youths in Virginia suffer homelessness and lack family support, just like in other U.S. states, leading to poor access to quality health care and education.

Economic Insecurity

Largely, transgender people face institutional and systemic discrimination and barriers to economic security. According to a study conducted by Frazer and Howe (2020), 62% of transgender persons reported an annual income of below $25,000 relative to 41% of cisgender heterosexual people (Frazer and Howe, 2020). Lower economic power implies poor access to health care and quality education.  

2. State Policy That Impacts Transgender Population in Virginia

a. The policy: Virginia Values Act on LGBTQ nondiscrimination and protection law

LGBT nondiscrimination law is the state policy that impacts Virginian transgender people.

b. Systems Involved: Legislative systems, Virginia General Assembly and Governor of Virginia. 

Virginia lawmakers passed the Virginia Values Act, an LGBTQ nondiscrimination protection law signed into law by Governor Northam Ralph on April 11, 2020. With the Virginia Values Act, Virginia becomes the first among southern states to enact comprehensive LGBTQ nondiscrimination law. The enactment of the Values Act followed a longstanding encounter in the Virginia General Assembly to have LGBTQ people given the freedom to transact their daily businesses without fear of being discriminated against. Virginia Values Act places Virginia on the map as the twenty-first American state to implement a comprehensive LGBTQ anti-discrimination protection policy.

c. How the Policy Impact Transgender People and LGBTQ in General

The law, which was effected on July 1, 2020, prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, particularly in housing, public places, employment, and credit applications. The act sends a strong signal that Virginia is turning into a state where everyone is can live, work, and raise their families freely without fear of discrimination. Adam Ebbin, a gay lawmaker who has been pushing for the LGBTQ anti-discrimination, expressed his gratitude for the victory and argued that Virginia is now on the path to building an inclusive Commonwealth, providing an opportunity for everyone, and where people are treated fairly. (Lang, 2020). The Virginia LGBTQs will no longer fear being denied essential services in public places such as in healthcare and education systems, evicted or fired from their jobs because of their gender identity

The Virginia LGBTQ anti-discrimination law borrows from several other U.S. laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, barring occupation discrimination based on gender, making it possible for transgender students to transition into the employment world. Title IX of the Education Amendments, 1972 also bar schools funded by the federal government from denying or limiting students’ participation in school programs because of their sex (Leonard, 2021). The law is interpreted to include protection against discrimination along the sexual alignment, transgender status, and gender identity.

The Virginia Values Act on LGBT nondiscrimination measure counters the anti-LGBTQ legislation that runs in many U.S. states. A policy analysis study by Parris, Fulks, and Kelley (2021) established that 42 U.S. states had legislatures subjecting LGBTQ young people to at least one piece or many pieces, up to 12 proposed anti-LGBTQ policies in a single year between 2015 and 2019. The researchers noted that the parliaments presented 215 anti-LGBTQ laws, an average of 43 proposed legislation annually. Legislations creating limitations on single-sex public facilities such as hospitals were the most frequently proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation laws (Parris, Fulks & Kelley, 2021). Such laws denied LGBTQs access to healthcare and school facilities.

Overall, state policy significantly contributes to the rapidly evolving civil rights landscape and discriminatory practices in the U.S. Many states have legislative proposals limiting LGBTQ people’s access to essential services such as healthcare and schools, leading to stress. State policies denying health care access or exemption from school facilities and sports promote discrimination and reduce access to services for LGBTQ young people and lead to chronic stress and mental illness (Parris, Fulks & Kelley, 2021). Enacting the Virginia Values Act on LGBT nondiscrimination measure into law will protect LGBT youth from discrimination based on gender identity.