PITTSBURGH _ Transgender people in the United States experience mistreatment, violence, economic hardship, and harmful effects on physical and mental health at rates far exceeding those of the general population, according to the findings of the largest survey ever conducted examining the experiences of the transgender community.
Released Thursday, the U.S. Transgender Survey was conducted in the summer of 2015 by the National Center for Transgender Equality. The 302-page report provides a detailed look at the experiences of transgender people across categories such as education, employment, family life, health, housing and interactions with the criminal justice system.
Among the findings from an online survey of 27,715 anonymous respondents from all 50 states, American possessions and U.S. military bases overseas:
_In the year prior to the survey, 46 percent of respondents were verbally harassed; 9 percent were physically attacked; 10 percent were sexually assaulted.
_Nearly half were sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime.
_In the year prior to completing the survey, 30 percent of respondents who had a job reported being fired, denied a promotion or experiencing some other form of mistreatment in the workplace due to their identity or expression, such as being verbally harassed or physically or sexually assaulted at work.
_Nearly one-third _ 29 percent _ were living in poverty compared with 14 percent in the general U.S. population.
_Psychological distress was experienced by 39 percent of respondents compared with 5 percent in the U.S. population.
_The rate of attempted suicide by respondents _ 40 percent _ was nearly 10 times that of the rate of 4.6 percent in the nation's population.
"The findings reveal disturbing patterns of mistreatment and discrimination and startling disparities between transgender people in the survey and the U.S. population when it comes to the most basic elements of life, such as finding a job, having a place to live, accessing medical care, and enjoying the support of family and community," according to the USTS Executive Summary.
"Survey respondents also experienced harassment and violence at alarmingly high rates."
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a conference call with reporters Thursday that the findings provide disturbing evidence of discrimination, violence and economic instability among other barriers to equality for transgender people.
"The findings make it really crystal clear there is more work to do," she said. "The challenges and tragedies that transgender people face every day is unacceptable."
