Preventing Transgender Suicide

Transgender Lives are Precious: National Suicide Prevention Week

Suicide sadly remains all too prevalent in the transgender community. Unremitting discrimination takes its toll and transgender people pay the price for the prejudice of others. Sometimes, transgender people turn to suicide when they can’t find work, housing or other practical necessities of life. In the survey that NCTE conducted with The Task Force, 41% of those who responded reported having attempted suicide at some point in their lives; this compares with 1.6% of the general population.  That’s a rate 25 times that of the rest of the United States.

NCTE has created a new resource of information about transgender people and suicide, including results from our survey, and resources to help prevent self-harm: Preventing Transgender Suicide. Transgender lives are worth living.

If you are in crisis, please reach out. Here are some numbers to call:

• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline, 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564); Monday to Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight (Eastern); Saturday, noon – 5 p.m. (Eastern)

• The Trevor Project, 1-866-488-7386 (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth)

• National Suicide Prevention Helpline: 1-800-273-TALK
  Red Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio: 1-888-628-9454
  For Hearing and Speech Impaired with TTY Equipment: TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)

As part of NCTE's efforts, we created two avatars on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Gallery that specifically talk to transgender people.