Mara Keisling
The National Center for Transgender Equality today (Wednesday, Aug. 19) opened the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey in an effort to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the lives of trans men and women in the U.S., NCTE officials said.
The new survey is a follow-up to NCTE’s National Transgender Discrimination Survey, and is, officials said, the largest, most extensive survey of transgender Americans ever undertaken. It will cover a wide range of topics to assess transgender people’s experiences in employment, housing, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, disabilities, immigration, sex work and police interactions.
Participants will have at least one month to complete the survey, and results are expected to be released in the spring of 2016.
NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said that the trans community in the U.S. is a “a critical moment,” but that “there is basic fundamental knowledge that we do not have. While we’re aware that trans people face extraordinary challenges, we cannot discern how frequent or widespread they are without up-to-date data. The survey will provide us with robust, fresh data, which will translate into significant knowledge about the trans community.”
Keisling continued, “This is a survey for all trans, genderqueer and non-binary people. It is for us, about us and by us. Just like the the first survey, the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey will help expand our understanding … and inform life-saving laws and policies that meet the needs of our communities. It will help us develop the information we need to understand the realities of our lives.
“Because this is the community’s study, the results will be available to community members, organizations and researchers for years to come,” she concluded.
Click here to participate in the survey.
