Multnomah County’s Board of Commissioners has unanimously declared December as Transgender Children Awareness Month.
Commissioner Deborah Kafoury brought forward the proclamation at the board’s meeting on Dec. 1. The proclamation acknowledged that transgender and gender non-conforming children and young people are among the least understood, most marginalized and under-served populations.
Board members emphasized the need to foster a safe and understanding community that affords transgender young people the opportunity to experience physical puberty in a way that is affordable and in line with their gender identity.
Jenn Burleton, executive director of TransActive Education & Advocacy, spoke at the Dec. 1 meeting about the challenges her clients face. TransActive provides educational, advocacy, support and research services to transgender non-conforming children and young people, their families and organizations and professionals that serve this population.
“While the stories of transgender adults have been written about, talked about on television and filmed for theaters, the lives and unique challenges transgender children and youth face have remained in the shadows,” Burleton said.
“In fact, there is some indication that some in our society intended and still intend for these children to live lives in which they are marginalized, stigmatized, dismissed and or arbitrarily diagnosed,” Burleton said, “with a mental disorder or most commonly assumed to be merely expressing symptoms of future gayness.”
The latest estimates are that 1 in 100 children experience discrimination, abuse and rejection because they don’t conform to gender stereotypes for their assigned birth sex, Burleton said. One in 250 children do not experience their gender identity in a way that corresponds to the gender they were assigned at birth, she added.
“This is in fact a higher prevalence rate then that of children born with Type 1 diabetes,” Burleton said.
Burleton’s observations correlate to findings made in Multnomah County Health Department’s 2009 Speak Out Survey 2009 Speak Out LGBTQ Health Survey (806.07 KB). That survey addressed the health and wellness of Portland’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. More than 800 respondents participated.
The survey found that transgender young people were among the smallest percentage to report unconditional love from family and to report having an adult they could confide in when growing up. About 76 percent of transgender respondents strongly agreed that they felt they didn’t fit in at school, in comparison to genderqueer, male and female respondents who reported better outcomes.
Burleton emphasized that transgender and non-conforming children are not as different from their peers as some would think.
“They love to play, laugh, run and jump and sometimes get too loud,” Burleton said. “They want to feel loved by their parents and to know they are safe. They are in every sense of the word simply kids.”
Chair Jeff Cogen said the county was committed to supporting young people who are navigating their gender identity.
“This is an issue that I feel like a lot of people are very uncomfortable with,” Cogen said. “This is about our goals to treat everyone fairly and compassionately and equally. I think this is absolutely the right thing for us to be doing.”
Multnomah County joins other governmental bodies and cities locally and across the United States in recognizing transgender youth. In December 2010, the Portland City Council proclaimed a Transgender Child Awareness Week.
For more information:
Multnomah County 2009 Speak Out survey 2009 Speak Out LGBTQ Health Survey (806.07 KB)