Grant: Project Grant

Trans human rights are under threat internationally. In 2022 alone, over 300 anti-trans bills targeting gender identity and expression, and restrictions on trans human rights, were introduced in the United States, along with rising transphobic public sentiment in Canada. Prior research indicate that trans individuals suffer from greater risk of self-harm (i.e. self-injury, self-poisoning, and suicide attempts), and exposure to discrimination and stigma may worsen psychosocial stress and increase the risk of self-harm. The proposed project aims to 1) study the disparity in self-harm related deaths and acute-care use among different gender identities (cis women, cis men, transmasculine, transfeminine, and non-binary); 2) investigate the effect of trans-specific policies and access to gender-affirming healthcare on self-harm among transgender individuals, as well as differences in follow-up care after a crisis event (such as a suicide attempt); and 3) gather the perspectives of trans and non-binary individuals to inform public and health policies. Our project will provide Canadian social service providers and community organizations with the strong evidence on self-harm disparity by gender identity, which is vitally important for prioritising the funding of programs to reduce self-harm events. As our project was formulated based on the needs of our community partners, which includes LGBTQ2S+ healthcare and advocacy organisations, we will collaborate with them to integrate the research findings into their core activities and strategies to reduce trans self-harm especially among trans people at the intersections of multiple disadvantages. By providing evidence on the impact of trans-targeted public policies and gender-affirming healthcare on self-harm, the research will also contribute to the wider social and political debates on the need to promote trans-human rights in Canada and internationally.