Trans disabled youth are twice as likely to feel unsafe at school

Like any diverse group, the LGBTQ+ community is rich with other intersectional identities. That includes those who are both queer and disabled, and a new report sheds light on the unique challenges that demographic faces.

The Human Rights Campaign’s 2024 Disabled LGBTQ+ Youth Report surveyed approximately 3,100 LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-17 with disabilities, the majority of whom also identified as trans or gender-nonconforming. Its results give insight to their experiences at school, their home lives, and their hopes for the future.

Disabled queer youth feel less safe at school than queer youth overall, the study found, with 55% reporting feeling unsafe in at least one school setting compared to 46% of all LGBTQ+ youth.

Broken down further, half of disabled queer youth (50.2%) feel unsafe in school locker rooms, and a third (33.6%) feel unsafe in school bathrooms.

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Trans disabled youth reported feeling more than twice as unsafe as their cisgender counterparts, at 61.2% versus 30.9%.

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That lack of safety comes in part from the intense bullying faced by queer disabled youth in schools. In the 30 days prior to taking the survey, more than 6 in 10 of the respondents (62.5%) had experienced verbal or physical harassment at school.

Meanwhile at home, queer disabled youth face rejection and acceptance from their parents in near equal measure. 68.3% of survey respondents said they had experienced at least one form of support for their LGBTQ+ identity from a parent, but ​​62.5% said they had experienced rejection.

Looking to their futures, many trans disabled teens have concerns about being out in the workplace after finishing school. Only half of respondents (50.9.%) think they’ll be able to be their authentic selves when applying for jobs, and three quarters (75.4%) are afraid they’ll face discrimination for their identities at work. That figure is even higher for trans and gender-nonconforming disabled youth at 81%.

“Disabled LGBTQ+ youth can face a series of challenges that are shaped by both their LGBTQ+ identities and disabilities,” reads the report’s conclusion. “Parents, caregivers, educators and youth-serving professionals must come together to meet the needs of disabled LGBTQ+ youth, and lawmakers must end the attack on LGBTQ+ kids in America.”

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