Features/ Health/ Top Stories
FDA slow in responding to calls for end to ban on gay men tissue donors
Lou Chibarro December 27, 2021
As of early this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had yet to respond to a Nov. 29 joint letter by 52 members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate calling on the FDA to end its policy of restricting the donation of human tissues such as corneas, heart valves, skin, and other tissue by men who have sex with men, or MSM.
The letter is addressed to Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. The FDA is an agency within the HHS.
The letter says the FDA's restrictions on MSM tissue donation date back to a 1994 U.S. Public Health Service "guidance" related to the possible transmission of HIV, which stated that any man "who has had sex with another man in the preceding five years" should be disqualified from tissue donation.
"We also call your attention to the broad consensus within the medical community indicating that the current scientific evidence does not support these restrictions," the letter states. "We have welcomed the FDA's recent steps in the right direction to address its discriminatory MSM blood donation policies and urge you to take similar actions to revise the agency's tissue donation criteria to align with current science so as not to unfairly stigmatize gay and bisexual men."
The letter adds, "In fact, a recent study in the medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology estimated that between 1,558 and 3,217 corneal donations are turned away annually from otherwise eligible donors who are disqualified because of their sexual orientation, an unacceptable figure given widespread shortages of transplantable corneas."
The letter continues, saying, "FDA policy should be derived from the best available science, not historic bias and prejudice. As with blood donation, we believe that any deferral policies should be based on individualized risk assessment rather than a categorical, time-based deferral that perpetuates stigma."
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), the nation's only out lesbian U.S. senator, and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) are the two lead signers of the letter. All 52 signers of the letter are Democrats.
Among the others who signed their names to the FDA letter are four of the nine openly gay or lesbian members of the U.S. House. They include Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Richie Torres (D-N.Y.), Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), and Mark Takano (D-Calif.).
Also signing the letter are D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
In response to a Dec. 21 email inquiry from the Washington Blade, FDA Press Officer Abigail Capobianco sent the Blade a one-sentence statement saying, "The FDA will respond to the letter directly."
The statement didn't say to whom the FDA would respond or when it would issue its response.
Features/ Religion/ Top Stories
Utah billionaire leaves Mormon church, donates $600,000 to LGBTQ group
Jo Yurcaba December 24, 2021
Jeff Green, a billionaire thought to be the richest person from Utah, resigned from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, writing in a letter to the church's president that he believes the institution has "hindered global progress in women's rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights," according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Green, the chairman and CEO of The Trade Desk, a technology marketing company, informally left the Mormon church, as the LDS church is commonly called, a decade ago. But in a letter Monday to church President Russell Nelson, he officially resigned and requested the removal of his records, The Tribune reported.
Neither Green nor the church have responded to requests for comment about the letter.
Green said in his letter that most of the church's members are "good people trying to do right" but that he believes "the church is actively and currently doing harm in the world."
"The church leadership is not honest about its history, its finances, and its advocacy," he wrote, according to The Tribune.
New resource center in Utah a sanctuary for LGBTQ Mormons
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Green wrote that he will donate $600,000 to the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Utah as the first major donation from his family foundation's giving arm, Dataphilanthropy. According to The Tribune, he added that almost half of the money will go to a new scholarship program for LGBTQ students in Utah, including those who "may need or want to leave" his alma mater, Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by the church.
"We made this investment sizable and publicly to send a message that Equality Utah isn't going anywhere," Green wrote, adding that he hopes the donation is the first of many.
A spokesperson for Brigham Young University has not responded to a request for comment.
Executive Director Troy Williams said Equality Utah is "incredibly grateful for Jeff's generosity and support."
"In Utah, we have made enormous strides forward toward LGBTQ equality," he said in an email. "The two most important elements of our success has been the support of allies and the willingness of state and religious leaders to engage with us. We don't always agree, but great things happen when we seek common ground. Jeff's financial support will ensure that we will remain a prominent force in Utah politics for years to come."
The group has celebrated a number of notable achievements in recent years despite the state's conservatism. About 62 percent of Utah residents and about 86 percent of the state's lawmakers are members of the LDS church, which opposes same-sex marriage and, more recently, the Equality Act, a federal bill that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing, employment and jury service, among other areas of life.
Despite those conflicts, Equality Utah has managed to work alongside church leaders and the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass historic legislation.
In 2015, the state passed a bill that prohibits employment and housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while providing protection for religious institutions that say such prohibitions would violate their beliefs. In 2017, the governor repealed a law prohibiting discussions of homosexuality in public schools.
Then, in 2019, the state joined 21 others by passing an LGBTQ-inclusive hate crime law. Last year, it banned licensed therapistsfrom practicing conversion therapy, a discredited practice that seeks to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, on children.
But advocates say there is still work to do. For example, in October, Brigham Young University, which Green mentioned in his letter, was named one of the worst colleges and universities for LGBTQ students by Campus Pride, a nonprofit organization that advocates for LGBTQ inclusivity and safety at U.S. colleges and universities.
The university forbids same-sex dating and doesn't officially recognize or support BYU Pride, the student-run LGBTQ group.
The university was named in a class-action lawsuit against the Education Department in March alleging that a Title IX exemption allows religiously affiliated schools that receive federal funds to discriminate against LGBTQ students and that the exemption is unconstitutional. At the time, a spokesperson for the university said BYU was "aware of the lawsuit" and was reviewing it.
"Our goal is that all our students be treated with respect, dignity and love," the statement read. "We are concerned when any of our students do not feel this way and greatly value the contributions our students make to BYU." The university has not replied to a request for additional comment.
In addition to potentially making more donations to Equality Utah, Green — whose net worth is estimated at $5 billion — wrote in a giving pledge that his goal is to give away more than 90 percent of his wealth "through data-driven philanthropy before or at my death."
"But I will also give of my time, my most precious commodity, to allocate those funds deliberately, and to be personally engaged," he wrote.
Everybody's Business/ Features/ Top Stories
Antigay wedding photographer had a very bad day in court
Dan Tracer December 24, 2021
A Christian wedding photographer who refused to work at same-sex weddings is going to have to do some career soul-searching after a federal court in New York dismissed her lawsuit.
Emilee Carpenter filed the suit in April after she was asked to photograph seven same-sex weddings, arguing that New York's nondiscrimination laws forced her to betray her faith by snapping photos of happy, same-sex couples or else pay fines of up to $100k.
She claimed her First and 14th amendment rights were being violated.
"Just as the government cannot compel a lesbian baker to create a cake condemning same-sex marriage or an atheist playwright to wax positively about God, New York cannot force Emilee to convey messages she objects to," the lawsuit argued.
U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. of Western New York said "the Court is not persuaded" as he dismissed Carpenter's claims Monday.
"The crux of Plaintiff's claims is that her photography is the product of her unique artistic style and vision. Thus, an exemption for Plaintiff's unique, non-fungible services would necessarily undermine, not serve, the State's purpose, as it would 'relegate [same-sex couples] to an inferior market' than that enjoyed by the public at large," Geraci said.
Carpenter was defended by The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative Christian nonprofit advocacy group "that has supported the recriminalization of sexual acts between consenting LGBTQ adults in the U.S. and criminalization abroad; has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad; has contended that LGBTQ people are more likely to engage in pedophilia; and claims that a "homosexual agenda" will destroy Christianity and society," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"ADF also works to develop 'religious liberty' legislation and case law that will allow the denial of goods and services to LGBTQ people on the basis of religion," the group adds.
ADF has requested the case be brought before the Supreme Court.
Gender-affirming hormone therapy saves trans kids' lives. study proves
Pink News, Vic Parsons December 24, 2021
Giving gender-affirming hormone therapy to young trans people who want it significantly decreases the risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and depression, according to a landmark study.
Trans youth who take gender-affirming hormone therapy are nearly 40 per cent less likely to have been depressed or attempted suicide in the last year compared with trans youth who want hormones but don't receive them, the study has revealed.ADVERTISING
Researchers at the Trevor Project, a US-based LGBT+ suicide prevention organisation, published their peer-reviewed findings in the Journal of Adolescent Health on 14 December.https://cdn.3lift.com/pharma/eylea_0121/index_A.html?w=250&h=47Take Control of Wet AMDSponsored by EYLEASee more
More than 9,000 trans and non-binary young people, aged between 13 and 24, took part in the online study last year.
Half of the trans and non-binary youth surveyed were not using gender-affirming hormone therapy but wanted to, while 36 per cent were not interested. Fourteen per cent of those surveyed were taking gender-affirming hormone therapy.
The study also found that parental support of a young person's trans identity plays a strong role in whether or not they can access gender-affirming hormone therapy, with nearly 80 per cent of those on hormones reporting that at least one of their parents supported their gender identity.
"It's clear that gender-affirming care has the potential to reduce rates of depression and suicide attempts, while banning this vital care and exposing young people to harmful political rhetoric can cause real harm," said Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project.
"It's critical that all transgender and non-binary youth across the country have access to medical care that is affirming, patient-centred and evidence-based."
The study comes as a wave of Republican-backed anti-trans bills are seeking to restrict trans youth's access to gender-affirming healthcare in multiple US states.
In a statement about the Trevor Project's latest study, Dr Amy Green, vice-president of research, said: "This study emphasises the potential benefits of gender-affirming hormone therapy as a mechanism to reduce feelings of gender dysphoria and minority stress among transgender and non-binary youth – thereby working to improve mental health outcomes and prevent suicide.
"These data should serve as a call to action to resist blanket bans on gender-affirming medical care and to invest in more research on this topic so that youth and their families can make evidence-informed decisions regarding care."
Multiple studies show giving trans kids gender-affirming healthcare saves lives
While it's the first study of this scale to look at hormone therapy and trans and non-binary youth, the findings are supported by several studies from recent years that also found giving trans youth access to gender-affirming care has a positive impact on their mental health.
These include a 2020 study in Pediatrics that found access to puberty blockers for trans youth who want them reduces their suicide risk in the short- and long-term, as well as reducing their likelihood of developing mental-health problems; a 2021 study in PLOS One that found the majority of trans teens who take puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria are happier and report having a positive experience of the treatment; and a 2021 study in Pediatrics that found shorter gender clinic waiting times – getting trans youth access to gender-affirming healthcare sooner – leads to lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Gender-affirming healthcare includes hormone therapy and surgeries, and also speech therapy, family therapy, counselling, puberty blockers and hair removal.
Features/ HIV & AIDS/ Top Stories
HIV Is Not a Crime: A New Play for Reforming Laws Criminalizing HIV Status
GLAAD, Serena Sonoma December 23, 2021
As the world marks 40 years of the first HIV cases to be diagnosed, an urgent new campaign and storytelling initiative is focusing attention on living with HIV and reforming laws in more than 30 states that treat HIV status as a crime. The Centers for Disease Control says these laws "discourage HIV testing, increase stigma, and exacerbate disparities," noting they are outdated and do not reflect the significant advances to treat and prevent HIV transmission, such as effective treatments that can suppress the virus to the point of it being undetectable and therefore untransmittable (U=U). President Biden also prioritized reforming the laws in his administration's strategy for defeating HIV by 2030, announced on World AIDS Day on December 1.
GLAAD 2021 State of HIV Stigma Study, Published August 26, 2021
For nearly two years, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF), in collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc, the Health Not Prisons Collective, other national and state coalitions have been working to modernize the outdated laws that continue to criminalize individuals for their HIV status. ETAF's "HIV Is Not A Crime" initiative uses storytelling to communicate that these laws need to catch up with modern science. GLAAD research shows a dramatic need for such storytelling efforts to educate Americans, increase compassion and decrease stigma: with the finale of Pose this year, there will be zero characters living with HIV in any scripted television or streaming program; on film, GLAAD research notes "a complete absence of stories of people living with HIV from the previous year."
On December 6, 2021, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation invited Hollywood screenwriters, producers, and studios to a presentation of 'Unjust,' a 10 minute, one-act play about the fight to end criminalization against people living with HIV. The event also included the premiere of the Foundation's latest video in the 'True (Not) Crime' series narrated by actress Annaleigh Ashford and a Q&A panel moderated by Variety's Senior Entertainment Editor Adam Vary.
The play, written by Lee Raines and directed by Jenny Sullivan, offered a fictional account of real struggles around HIV criminalization. The Q&A panel afterward provided an honest and emotional discussion with Hon. Senator Dallas Harris of Nevada, Diana Oliva from Gilead Sciences, Inc, playwright Lee Raines, and Chair of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation's Council of Justice Leaders Robert Suttle.
GLAAD: What made you want to tell this story?
LEE RAINES: I embraced this project because combining my experience as an activist and as a playwright felt like the perfect fit. UNJUST was a real passion project. The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation has come up with a very compelling way to present information about the topic of HIV criminalization and to humanize it.
GLAAD: What surprised you most as you were writing the script?
LEE RAINES: I didn't realize how easily the words would flow. The team came up with a great setting and characters in an initial brainstorming session on zoom. But the more I thought about the characters and their situation, and the more research I did, the more passionate I became. By the time I sat down to write, my blood was up, and the play came gushing out. Which was fortunate – we were on a tight deadline.
GLAAD: What's the one thing you want people to take away from the play?
LEE RAINES: I want people to feel emotionally connected to the issue of HIV stigma and modernization. There's a tendency to shut down our emotions when we hear the words "HIV decriminalization." But there is a terrible human cost.
GLAAD: Why did The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation launch the "HIV Is Not a Crime" initiative, and what are the goals?
CATHY BROWN, Executive Director of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation: The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation launched the HIV Is Not A Crime campaign in collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc in 2020. This campaign reveals the long-outdated laws in many states criminalizing HIV. Our goal is to find a path to modernize or repeal these laws and support those living with HIV. This will allow them to lead their lives without fear. The HIV Is Not A Crime initiative has joined national and grassroots partners to modernize HIV criminal laws across the country. We collaborate with the Health Not Prisons Collective and various other state and national organizations. We have also made it a priority to feature the lived experiences of and voices of individuals living with HIV at the forefront of our work through the Council of Justice Leaders and True (Not) Crime series. Currently, we have been focusing on changing Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and Tennessee.
GLAAD: Tell us more about the power storytelling has on the ability to convey a message and change the narrative?
CATHY BROWN: The storytelling and impact of both the moderated panel and the play were palpable on Monday evening. The audience in the room was audibly reacting to what they heard about the need to modernize HIV laws. You don't get to listen to the same emotional reactions over Zoom. Nothing is more powerful than seeing and hearing individuals tell their stories in person with a live audience. Through the HIV Is Not a Crime campaign, ETAF has dedicated resources, time, and unwavering support to the state coalitions working to modernize HIV laws around the country. UNJUST touched on this aspect of the work and folded in the weight of stigma, disclosure, family impact, and health equity into the program.
GLAAD: What surprised you most about the production of UNJUST?
CATHY BROWN: I was most surprised by the real opportunities for collaboration that this event and the community that attended have presented to the organization. To hear statistics around the number of persons living with HIV currently on mainstream television – 0 – is unnerving. The more we share people's real stories with the entertainment industry, the more we will shift public perception of the virus' impact. We hope to roll out this production, or a similar one, to states around the country that have activists and coalitions working to modernize laws.
Watch the latest True (Not) Crime video from The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation here, featuring Andre Leaphart's story with narration from Annaleigh Ashford. Andre was a counselor and minister until he lost everything at the age of 40, as a result of being criminalized for his HIV status. He had never been charged for anything in his life until this point. Today, Andre shares his story to help others avoid his unfair experiences with the criminal justice system and HIV stigma, and has dedicated his advocacy work to improving the lives of people living with HIV.
FDA approves first injectable HIV prevention drug
Brooke Sopelsa, Matt Lavietes and Benjamin Ryan December 20, 2021
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first long-acting injectable medication for use as pre-exposure prevention, or PrEP, against HIV, the agency announced Monday.
Apretude, the new drug, is an injectable given every two months as an alternative to HIV prevention pills, like Truvada and Descovy, which have been shown to reduce the risk of HIV by 99 percent when taken daily.
Two FDA trials analyzing the safety and efficacy of the novel drug found that Apretude was more likely to reduce HIV than the daily oral medications — by 69 percent for cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men and by 90 percent for cisgender women. Apretude's superior efficacy was apparently driven by the greater ease with which study participants adhered to the every-other-month regimen compared with taking a pill every day.
"Today's approval adds an important tool in the effort to end the HIV epidemic by providing the first option to prevent HIV that does not involve taking a daily pill," Dr. Debra Birnkrant, the director of antivirals division at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. "This injection, given every two months, will be critical to addressing the HIV epidemic in the U.S., including helping high-risk individuals and certain groups where adherence to daily medication has been a major challenge or not a realistic option."
While gains have been made in PrEP use over the past several years, only 25 percent of the 1.2 million people for whom PrEP is recommended were prescribed the treatment last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates that as of 2019, there were approximately 285,000 people using PrEP, the vast majority of them gay and bisexual men.
The hope is that the newly approved, long-acting injectable — made by ViiV Healthcare, which is majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline — will make adherence easier, help increase PrEP usage and drive down the national HIV rate.
"People who are vulnerable to acquiring HIV, especially those in Black and Latinx communities who are disproportionately impacted in the US, may want options beyond daily oral pills," Deborah Waterhouse, ViiV Healthcare's CEO, said in a statement, adding that "Apretude was studied in one of the most diverse and comprehensive HIV prevention trial programs to date, which also included some of the largest numbers of transgender women and Black men who have sex with men ever enrolled in an HIV prevention trial."
Men who have sex with men accounted for 66 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2019, according to the CDC. When the numbers are broken down by race, Black Americans accounted for the highest percentage, representing 42 percent of all new diagnoses that year.
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In July, the federal government announced that almost all insurers must cover the two approved forms of PrEP pills, Truvada and Descovy, as well as the lab tests and clinic visits required to maintain such prescriptions — and to do so with no cost sharing. As it stands, insurers will not be required to cover all costs for the new injectable version of PrEP, which has a list price of $3,700 per dose and is slated to begin shipping to wholesalers and specialty distributors in the U.S. in early 2022.
Kenyon Farrow, the managing director of PrEP4All, an advocacy group that fights to increase access to HIV prevention and treatment, said his organization is "definitely happy to see the FDA approval of another option for people who want to use PrEP."
However, he said he fears that the "implementation of this option will likely take years to make it real for most people."
"Due to COVID, public health systems are already overburdened and much of the workforce needed to implement this large scale are leaving the field due to burnout," he said in an email. "Because it will need to be administered in clinical settings, it won't be treated as a pharmacy benefit by payers, but instead as a clinical benefit, which will take time to implement the proper coding for billing, as well as education and training for nurses who will likely bear the brunt of the work to implement."
In the meantime, there are multiple other long-acting forms of PrEP making their way through the research pipeline, requiring dosing as seldom as twice per year.
Jury awards $4 million to Missouri transgender student
Associated Press December 19, 2021
A Kansas City-area school district must pay a transgender student $4 million after it refused to let him use the boys' restrooms or locker rooms, a Jackson County jury decided.
The jury on Monday found the Blue Springs school district had discriminated against the student, NBC affiliate KSHB-TV reported.
The school district said in a statement that it disagreed with the verdict and would be "seeking appropriate relief from the trial court and court of appeals if necessary."
Delta Woods Middle School in Lee's Summit, Mo.Google Maps
The student had legally changed his name in 2010 and amended his birth certificate to reflect his new name and gender in 2014, according to the lawsuit. He filed the lawsuit in 2015.
Although the state recognized him as a boy, the district denied the student access to the boys' restrooms and locker rooms at Delta Woods Middle School and the Freshman Center, the lawsuit said.
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The student participated in boy's physical education and athletics in middle schools but was required to use a single person bathroom outside the boys' locker room, according to court documents.
He did not participate in fall sports at the Freshman Center because he could not use the boys' locker room or restrooms.
Hormone therapy linked to lower suicide risk for trans youths, study finds
Gender-affirming hormone therapy is strongly linked to a lower risk of suicide and depression for transgender youths, according to the first large-scale study to examine the issue.
The research, published Tuesday in the Journal of Adolescent Health, was based on a sample of more than 9,000 transgender and nonbinary youths from the ages of 13 to 24 who provided data on hormone therapy as part of an online survey conducted last year by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention group.
Young people receiving gender-affirming hormones reported a lower likelihood of experiencing recent depression and considering suicide compared to those who wanted but did not receive hormone therapy. For people under age 18, receiving hormones was associated with nearly 40 percent lower odds of recent depression and of a past-year suicide attempt.
"It's clear that gender-affirming care has the potential to reduce rates of depression and suicide attempts while banning this vital care and exposing young people to harmful political rhetoric can cause real harm," Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project, said in a statement. "It's critical that all transgender and nonbinary youth across the country have access to medical care that is affirming, patient-centered, and evidence-based."
More than 20 states have considered bills aiming to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors this year alone. Only Arkansas has passed a law completely banning access to gender-affirming health care, including puberty blockers and hormones, for trans minors, but a judge blocked that law from taking effect in July pending the outcome of litigation. Tennessee enacted a more limited law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment and surgery to prepubescent minors.
Some transgender and nonbinary people receive hormone therapy — which can include hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and other medications — to align their appearance and secondary sex characteristics with their gender identity. Hormone therapy is also used to treat many other conditions and illnesses, including cancer, precocious puberty and the symptoms of menopause.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, widely considered the leading international body in transgender health care, doesn't recommend starting hormone therapy until an individual reaches the age of legal majority, usually 18. In some cases, the association recommends hormone therapy for younger teens.
On average, the young people sampled in The Trevor Project's study were just over 17 and a half years old.
This latest study adds to growing evidence that gender-affirming care can improve transgender youths' mental health. A study published in the journal Pediatrics last year found that transgender people who received puberty blockers during adolescence had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts as adults than those who wanted but could not access the medication.
Another study, also published in Pediatrics last year, found that trans children who receive gender-affirming medical care earlier in their lives are less likely to experience poor mental health, such as depression and anxiety.
The Trevor Project has previously found that transgender and nonbinary youths have an elevated risk of depression, thoughts of suicide and attempting suicide compared to youth who are cisgender and straight. A survey that the group conducted last year found that 52 percent of trans and nonbinary youths seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 20 percent reported attempting suicide, compared to 32 percent and 10 percent of cisgender LGBQ youth.
"This study emphasizes the potential benefits of gender-affirming hormone therapy as a mechanism to reduce feelings of gender dysphoria and minority stress among transgender and nonbinary youth — thereby working to improve mental health outcomes and prevent suicide," Amy Green, a clinical psychologist and the vice president of research at The Trevor Project, said in a statement. "These data should serve as a call to action to resist blanket bans on gender-affirming medical care and to invest in more research on this topic so that youth and their families can make evidence-informed decisions regarding care."
Though more research is finding that access to gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy is beneficial to trans youths' mental health and overall well-being, not all who want it are able to access it.
Half of the transgender and nonbinary youth surveyed by The Trevor Project said they were not receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy but would like to, while 36 percent were not interested in receiving it and 14 percent were already receiving it. The research found that young people living in the South, youth of color and nonbinary respondents were underrepresented among those who received gender-affirming hormone therapy when they desired it.
Whether a youth has parental support also affects their access: The study found that 80 percent of those who received hormone therapy reported that they had at least one parent who supported their gender identity.
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Chilling video shows police officers dropping trans woman on her face in brutal chokehold
Lily Wakefield, Pink News December 16, 2021
A video has been released of a trans woman, Amber Canter, being held in a brutal chokehold and dropped on her face by officers in a Baltimore corrections facility.
Canter has filed a lawsuit against the state of Maryland and several officers involved in the incident, which took place at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center in June 2019, according to CNN.
The footage was released by her attorney and shows Canter in a yellow jumpsuit, her body limp, while she is dragged by an officer holding her in a chokehold.
She is hauled into the facility's dayroom, still in a chokehold, before being dropped face-first onto the concrete floor.
According to her civil complaint, she was left with bone fractures and severe bruising on her face, internal bleeding behind her right eye and pneumocephalus​, a pocket of air inside the skull which can be fatal.
The complaint alleges that the correctional officers failed to seek medical treatment for more than ten minutes, after which Canter had to be taken to an intensive care unit.
Amber Canter alleges that correctional officers used anti-LGBT+ slurs, and said she 'got what was coming' to her
According to Amber Canter's lawsuit, the incident began when she was told that she might be transferred to another facility.
Canter, who had become "notoriously known by Baltimore Central Booking correctional officers and staff as a persistent advocate and activist for transgender inmate rights" and was housed with male inmates, was told that if she wasn't transferred she would be allowed to go for recreational time.
But on hearing the plan, another officer announced that she "[did not] give a f**k, this f****t will not get nothing extra".
When Canter was not transferred, she asked about the recreational time, but was bombarded with slurs by the same officer, according to the complaint.
The officer said she would lock Canter in her cell, and the trans woman sat down on the ground in protest.
Officer Zanel Santana, named in the lawsuit as the officer who put her in the chokehold, then allegedly arrived, saying: "Mace this f**king d**k-sucker!"
While in hospital, Canter told hospital staff what had happened, and they contacted Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center about her complaint.
In "retaliation", when Canter arrived back at the facility, staff "refused to allow Amber to attend all her medical appointments", the lawsuit says.
Another officer allegedly told her on her return: "I see your f****t ass got what was coming to you!"
Canter is suing for a minimum of $75,000 in damages on 11 counts, claiming her civil rights were violated and she was subjected to negligence, assault and battery.
In a statement to CNN, Canter's attorneys said: "We will not let this apparent hate crime, committed under the watch of the Maryland prison system, go unaddressed.
"Amber has long fought for transgender rights and has vigorously complained about the state correctional system's mistreatment of her and other members of the LGBTQ inmate community.
"Such senseless brutality against the transgender community cannot and will not be tolerated, no matter where it occurs."
In addition to Canter's civil complaint, three officers have been indicted on criminal assault and misconduct charges in relation to the incident, and are due to appear in court in March.
Sexual assault, harassment, bullying: Trans students say they're targeted at school
Willow Andring, a 14-year-old transgender high school freshman, said she faces regular harassment at her school, Armstrong Junior-Senior High School in Kittanning, about 45 minutes northeast of Pittsburgh.
A classmate yelled at her to get out of the girl's restroom, and she's been called both racist and homophobic slurs, she said.
In late October, that harassment escalated, and she was left with a concussion after another student attacked and beat her in an incident that was caught on camera and shared on social media.
Willow said she was nervous to return to school after that. "I've been sort of just hanging with my friends and trying to stay safe but also still have fun at school and learn," she said.
Police are investigating the incident, and the Armstrong School District issued a statement last month vowing to punish the student who attacked Willow.
"The administration and the school board are well aware of this incident and the video tape that is circulating," Todd Luke, president of the Armstrong School Board, said in the statement. "We are 100% behind Willow and, as a board, we are listening to the community."
Heather Andring, Willow's mother, said the student who attacked her daughter returned to school for a few days after the incident but hasn't been seen at school by Willow recently. Andring said school administrators told her that they couldn't share information related to disciplinary action because of student privacy laws.
Luke has not responded to a request for additional comment.
Willow is one of many transgender students who have faced repeated harassment and violence at school this year. At least a dozen news articles — from California to Florida — specifically mentioned trans students being harassed or attacked, some of them in bathrooms.
I think that we, as both a community and a school, need to reflect on what's happened, but take action and really try and create a better culture of just basic respect for other people.
HEATHER ANDRING
Advocates say it's hard to tell whether trans students have faced more harassment and bullying at school this year or whether the stories are just getting more attention from local news outlets. Regardless, they and the parents of trans students who have experienced violence say that schools aren't doing enough to address the problem, and the students themselves say they feel unsafe.
"I really want the school to take ownership of what happened," Andring said, adding that she thinks there's a larger cultural problem at the school that officials aren't taking seriously enough. She pointed to an incident at a hockey game in October where a group of Armstrong students chanted derogatory remarks at a female goalie. "I think that we, as both a community and a school, need to reflect on what's happened, but take action and really try and create a better culture of just basic respect for other people."
'An unsafe and unhealthy environment'
Advocates say that many students have reported facing more harassment and violence at school recently, but particularly LGBTQ students.
One advocate, a.t. furuya, senior youth programs manager at GLSEN, a national nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ students, said multiple school districts have reported an increase in sexual and physical assaults. That uptick, said furuya, who uses gender-neutral pronouns and spells their name with all lowercase letters, doesn't appear to be specific to transgender students, but it's likely that they are experiencing it as well because they already face disproportionate violence and harassment.
A national survey of LGBTQ students published in 2020 by GLSEN found that 69 percent of respondents reported experiencing verbal harassment at school based on their sexual orientation, 57 percent based on their gender expression or outward appearance, and 54 percent based on their gender identity.
The overall increase in assaults, furuya said, may be partially due to the fact that students have been remote for so long, leaving them without the accountability provided by the rules on a school campus and without awareness campaigns on the effects of bullying.
It's important for school staffers who hear of or notice an increase in violence or bullying to "come together to address this immediately, because we also know that bullying and harassment has long-term effects on young people," furuya said, including poor mental health and an increased risk of suicide.
One trans student in Wisconsin said that the harassment he and his friends have faced this year "has been unlike any other year I've been there," and that it's taking an emotional toll.
N., who asked to go by his first initial only because of safety concerns, is a 17-year-old senior at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, about 25 miles west of Milwaukee. He said that about two months ago, he was in the men's bathroom when someone came in and said in what he described as a threatening voice, "We got a t—– in here. I don't know how I feel about that," using an anti-trans slur.
He said he couldn't provide a more precise time for when it happened, "because big incidents like that happen to me every week."
He couldn't identify the student by his voice, and there aren't cameras in the bathrooms, but he said the school told him they would check the cameras outside of the bathrooms. He said he still hasn't received an update.
Laura Myrah, superintendent of Arrowhead Union High School District, said the high school has "a large number of proactive and reactive practices in place to promote empathy, equality and appropriate behavior within our school."
"Arrowhead High School and our surrounding community, like most schools and communities, have room to grow when it comes to acceptance for all, eliminating bullying and discriminatory actions, etc.," she said. "In addition to our school's proactive policies and practices, every single case of harassing or bullying behavior that is brought to the attention of school counselors or administration is promptly investigated and addressed. Our Arrowhead Team strives for every student to be academically and socially/emotionally comfortable, confident and successful in their school."
The district is also one of many across the country where transgender students have in some form been the subject of debate. School boards have increasingly weighed in on trans students' rights to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity as opposed to their assigned sexes at birth. Teachers have also faced scrutiny — and in some cases quit or lost their jobs — for displaying Pride flags or instituting other LGBTQ-inclusive policies.
Nearly 30 states this year have also considered bills that would ban transgender athletes from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity, and governors in 10 states have signedsuch bills into law, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank.
N. said those kinds of debates have also made the climate at Arrowhead more hostile. He pointed to Arrowhead School Board member Amy Hemmer objecting to trans boys using the boys' bathroom at a school board meeting on Oct. 20.
"One of the things I wanted to address is bathrooms," she said, about three hours and 40 minutes into the meeting. "We're all kind of aware of a situation that happened, and since that time, I've heard from other parents about boys who have a girl who thinks she's a boy walk in on them while they're urinating."
N. said he believes Hemmer was talking about him when she described a "girl who thinks she's a boy."
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"I felt attacked and dehumanized by numerous things she said and so have my friends," he added. "This has caused harassment to increase and our confidence to decrease. It's getting to the point where students are trying to skip school or transfer to get away from it."
During the October school board meeting, Hemmer said the rights of cisgender boys at the school were being ignored, and questioned whether transgender students should use separate, gender-neutral bathrooms. She also said that a parent told her that some teachers at Arrowhead provided a survey at the start of the school year that allowed students to provide their pronouns.
"I don't believe our teachers should be promoting gender fluidity or whatever it is," she said, adding that she thinks it's one thing if a student wants to talk to a teacher one-on-one about their pronouns, but "to blanket everyone and kind of make it seem like it's normal, I don't agree with that, and I don't think that's what should be happening in our school."
N. said Hemmer's rhetoric and the verbal harassment he and other LGBTQ students are facing at school are fostering "an unsafe and unhealthy environment."
When asked about N.'s comments, Hemmer said "no one is being 'dehumanized' as far as I know."
"We have a situation at our school where some boys do not feel comfortable about a girl (trans) coming in and seeing their privates," she said in an email to NBC News. "We are looking into other options like barriers around urinals, more unisex bathrooms, etc. As for the pronouns, we are fine with such as long as those who don't agree have a voice and don't have to comply."
She added that trans students do have a bigger issue with bullying and harassment "and we need to do more to address such," she said. "We have learned a lot in a short period of time, and I do believe the bathroom issue was a catalyst."
A 'lack of understanding'
Some trans students and their parents said that, even in situations where schools are generally supportive, school staff struggle with adequately addressing targeted harassment and violence.
Rissa Biesenthal said her 14-year-old, Lucas, was sexually assaulted in the boys' bathroom at Berlin High School in Wisconsin last month. Lucas told WGBA-TV, an NBC affiliate in Green Bay, that a group of boys surrounded him in the bathroom and forced him to pull his pants down and pull his shirt up. The Berlin Police Department conducted an investigation and determined that no assault had occurred.
"After multiple interviews and examining the associated evidence of the alleged assault, our investigation discovered no physical assault or attack against the alleged victim took place," the department said in a statement to WGBA. Police added that a recording may have been taken of the victim while in a bathroom stall and asked anyone with information about the possible recording to contact them.
But Biesenthal isn't satisfied with the police investigation, describing it as "a joke." She said that the incident has had a negative effect on her child's mental health and that the family is considering suing the school district.
"Prior to this, Lucas had depression and other mental health issues that we've been trying to address, and it kind of seems like it's making things worse," she said, referring to the alleged assault.
Lucas told WGBA that he was uncomfortable and scared following the incident.
"I didn't really want to walk around the hallways after that," he said. "I tried to ignore it, but it was hard. I finally spoke up to my friends about it, and now everybody knows about it."
Nicholas Biesenthal, Lucas' father, said he doesn't understand how an assault could happen when the school required Lucas to have supervised bathroom breaks because he is transgender.
A group of high school students who were frustrated with the Berlin Area School District's response staged a walkout last month in support of Lucas.
At the time, School District Superintendent Carl Cartwright said the district "is committed to the success of all students in a safe learning environment and we take such allegations seriously." He added that the district is conducting its own investigation, and that as a result it is unable to provide additional details.
In an email to NBC News, Cartwright said the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits the district from sharing student records, including whether the students who allegedly assaulted Lucas have faced repercussions at school.
What I see with trans students in schools is that adults immediately feel like, 'Well, you don't know who you really are, so I'm going to make those decisions for you.' And that's super invalidating.
A.T. FURUYA, GLSEN
The district provided another statement on Nov. 10 at a public school board meeting, in which it stated that it has made "significant progress" with a new code of student conduct, as well as policies for nondiscrimination and gender-affirming inclusive practices.
The district said it would take appropriate action and share its findings with the students involved in the investigation, their parents and anyone else who "needs to know" or is legally entitled to the information. "When individuals are found in violation of school board policy or the BASD Code of Student Conduct, they are held accountable for their actions," the statement said.
If the district doesn't already have an inclusive curriculum and policies that lay out the consequences for harassment and violence, furuya said it should develop them and ensure that staff, parents, guardians and students are all aware of them.
They said a lack of policies, or a policy that mandates that a trans student have supervised bathroom breaks, "comes back to lack of education for adults on what it means to be trans or queer … and I think that lack of understanding is what's harming young people."
"For a student who's trans to have an educator standing outside of the bathroom when they use it is humiliating," furuya said, adding that if educators think something is wrong or that the student feels unsafe they should have conversations with them about what would make them feel safer rather than assuming that they know best.
"What I see with trans students in schools is that adults immediately feel like, 'Well, you don't know who you really are, so I'm going to make those decisions for you,'" furuya said. "And that's super invalidating."