Trans Suicide Hotline Reports Dramatic Increase in Calls After HB2 Signed Into Law
Calls to a transgender suicide hotline have “nearly doubled” since passage of Gov. Pat McCrory’s anti-LGBT law HB2, Trans Lifeline tells The Daily Beast this week. Prior to passage of the bill, calls to the crisis prevention hotline had peaked at roughly 200 a day. After the passage of HB2, Trans Lifeline saw a dramatically elevated call volume, with one day recording a previously unheard of 357 calls. The Daily Beast’s Samantha Allen notes laws like HB2 aren’t just ‘inconvenient,” they “may also be life-threatening.”
Suicide rates among transgender people are 22 times the national average. According to an ASFP/Williams Institute study, 41 percent of transgender individuals in the survey had attempted suicide. Of those, 59 percent had been denied access to appropriate restrooms in the workplace.
Trans Lifeline was founded in November of 2014 by Greta Martela and Nina Chaubal. Staffed by operators who are transgender, the hotline offers specialized support for transgender people in crisis.
On their Facebook page, Trans Life line posts this image, writing, “Anti-LGBT laws are catching like wildfire across the country, instigating a wave of calls from trans people in crisis. Twice as many people are urgently in need of support, guidance, and resources. Help us support trans people fighting for their lives by donating today at www.translifeline.org/donate“
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Image by Ant & Carrie Coleman via Flickr and a CC license