National transgender survey shows danger in Michigan

LANSING -- Michigan data from the largest transgender survey ever conducted in the U.S. were released Wednesday and show the majority of residents who identify as transgender feel unsupported and often in danger. 

The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey of 27,715 respondents nationwide includes 894 Michigan residents who shared their reactions on topics including unemployment, income, education, homelessness, health and police interactions. 

One of the most striking results: 79% of transgender Michigan residents said they experienced some form of mistreatment ranging from verbal harassment to physical or sexual assault between kindergarten and 12th grade.

"These are not individual problems," said Stephanie White, Equality Michigan's executive director, of the survey's results in a news conference Wednesday at City Hall. "This is a statewide problem." 

White and other transgender and human rights advocates, including a representative from the ACLU of Michigan, met in Lansing to make the survey's results public and help create a path forward for statewide reforms. White described transgender people as "by far the most vulnerable and victimized segment of our state." 

Other results from the transgender Michigan participants in the national survey: 

• 81% said none of their personal identification had the name and gender they preferred.
• 61% avoided using a public restroom in the past year because they were afraid of confrontations or other problems they might experience. 
• 55% said they would feel uncomfortable asking the police for help if they needed it.
• 38% who saw a health care provider in the past year reported having at least one negative experience related to being transgender. The negative experiences ranged from refusal of treatment to sexual assault. 
• 36% limited the amount they ate or drank to avoid using the restroom. 
• 35% who experienced homelessness in the past year avoided staying in a shelter because they feared being mistreated. 
• 34% experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. 
• 30% were living in poverty.
• 27% who held or applied for a job in 2015 reported being fired, denied a promotion or not being hired for a job they applied for due to gender identity or expression. 
• 26% experienced housing discrimination in the past year, including eviction or denial of a home or apartment.  

Currently Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act doesn't provide protection to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The legislation, passed in 1976, does prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, family status and marital status. 

That must change, followed by attitudes and an increase in resources to help people get the support they need, said Char Davenport, 61, from Hazel Park. Davenport, identified as male at birth, said Wednesday in Lansing she knew her gender was female 53 years ago. 

"I was told I had to play baseball, and I said 'What? Why?" Davenport said smiling. "You don't even let girls play! I want to work in the concession stand." 

But it took nearly half a century for Davenport's father to come to terms with her gender, she said. Once it happened in 2014, Davenport said she finally felt at peace.

Her father's message in the hospital, before he died of cancer: "It's you, It's really you. You are so beautiful." 

Davenport commends human rights ordinances crafted in cities throughout the state, including Lansing and East Lansing, but is troubled by a lack of education about the challenges transgender people face.

She would like to see programs in public schools aimed to help children navigate through the issue - without singling them out.

Last fall, the State Board of Education approved voluntary guidance to assist schools in creating environments more supportive of LGBT students. However, the board's vote has received plenty of opposition from taxpayers and lawmakers. 

Nicole Ellefson, 48, of Williamston, has a son, Reid, who was assigned female at birth and came out publicly as male about three years ago. Reid Ellefson, 18, was born in Lansing and is now a psychology major at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. 

Nicole Ellefson sees progress in mid-Michigan about LGBT issues, but remains troubled about results that show nearly eight of 10 transgender residents received harassment or abuse from kindergarten on. 

"Even the vast majority of people are going to look at that and say 'That's just not OK. That's not OK that kids are being mistreated simply for being who they are.'" Ellefson said. "I'm really hoping that people look at this (survey) and go 'Wow! I never understood. I never realized.'" 

The national survey with 27,715 participants was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality. It is the follow up to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey released in 2011. 

All results of the 2015 survey can be found at ustranssurvey.org. 

Contact Eric Lacy at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.