Youth Bullying - Trans Survivor Toolkit

Bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior by a person or group; the behavior is frequently repeated. Bully frequently involves power imbalances (or perceived imbalances). The bullying of young people can be perpetrated by peers or adults.

Bullying may take multiple forms, including:

Physical: such as hitting, kicking, and tripping.
Verbal: including name-calling and teasing.
Relational (or social): such as spreading rumors and excluding someone from a group.
Property-related damage: . Such as clothes, schoolwork, sports equipment, other belongings
Cyberbullying: occurring through technology[i].

The CDC recognizes youth bullying as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), which can contribute to current and future mental, emotional, and physical health concerns.

Witnessing other trans youth targeted by bullying

The impacts of bullying don’t just affect the individual who is targeted. With connections to other youth in school or online, trans and nonbinary youth are likely hearing about other instances of bullying. High-profile cases like the death of Nex Benedict (who sustained bullying), can contribute to heightened visibility and fear among trans youth[ii].

Seeing or hearing about anti-trans bullying can be traumatic. A young person knowing they may be targeted or that anti-trans bullying could get worse (e.g. moving from verbal harassment to physical assault) may contribute to fear, hypervigilance, isolation, or avoidance of peers.

Bullying impacts whole communities. When one trans student is targeted, it can impact other trans youth. Service providers, teachers, and adults should be aware of the implications of both direct and indirect bullying. Adults can support youth who may be experiencing heightened fear while others are bullied, as well as take steps to reduce bullying when it is occurring.

Impact of anti-trans legislation and attitudes

Anti-trans legislation has wide-reaching impacts. One of those impacts has been an increase in hate crimes at schools and college campuses in states with anti-LGBTQ policies.

A report from the Human Rights Campaign notes how anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes have increased in states with anti-LGBTQ laws, doubling from 2015 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022:

“Overall, there were an average of 108 anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes at schools reported to the FBI per year from 2015 to 2019 on both college and K-12 campuses. In 2021 and 2022, the most recent for which data were available, the average more than doubled to 232. (The number of reported hate crimes overall dropped in 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic shut down many school campuses, forcing learning online).[iii]”

Many components of anti-trans legislation put youth at higher risk of bullying. Some legislative efforts force trans youth to be outed to parents, prevent teachers from using a student’s correct name and pronouns, require trans students to use bathrooms/locker rooms that do not align with their gender identity, or bar students from playing school sports that align with their gender identity . In addition the institutional harm caused by the legislation and policies, the policies themselves also open up opportunities for other students to target trans youth without consequences.

Anti-trans legislation and attitudes have only continued to expand and become more prevalent since the 2022 HRC report. It is more important than ever for service providers to take proactive steps to prevent harm. Creating safe and affirming school environments where hate is not tolerated is critical to preventing and responding to bullying.

Online communities and cyberbullying

Many young trans and nonbinary people are connected with online communities; these may be some of the first spaces they learn about trans identities or feel comfortable expressing their gender identity/expression. Particularly for trans youth who live in more isolated communities (in a rural area, or an area with few in-person resources for trans youth), online connection may be even more critical for reducing isolation and finding community.

However, online communities and social media are another space where trans youth are likely to encounter bullying. In person bullying (for example, being bullied in school) may extend to virtual spaces. Cyberbullying may also take the form of random/non-specific anti-trans hate (e.g. strangers leaving comments with anti-trans slurs on a selfie a young person has posted with a trans-related hashtag), or targeted (e.g. accounts like Libs of TikTok directing their followers to harass a specific young trans person online).

Service providers should know that it’s not always simple to disengage with this form of bullying. Reducing online engagement may mean losing contact with supportive communities a young person does not have in-person. However, there are online safety strategies that can prevent and reduce harm.

Online Safety for LGBTQ Young People

Increasing suicidality

The data is clear: experiencing bullying increases the risk of suicide among trans youth[iv]. It is critical that service providers are knowledgeable about suicide risk among trans youth and know how to respond. Trans youth may need additional mental health and/or healing support while experiencing bullying. For more info on responding to suicide among trans youth, check out this tipsheet from the Trans LifeLine.

For therapists or mental health professionals, The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has created this infosheet on working with LGBTQ Youth.

Recognize the adverse impacts of bullying on young people’s mental, emotional, and physical health (including suicide risk).
Understand the connections between anti-trans legislation and attitudes and bullying of trans youth.
Understand why some trans youth may remain connected with online communities despite high rates of cyberbullying.
Take steps to create safe and affirming school environments.
Recognize and respond to signs of suicidality.

Try this activity to practice your response to supporting a transgender survivor of bullying. Read the case description below and answer/discuss the following questions.

Case example:

Zoe is a 13-year-old transgender girl in middle school. While she is well-connected with friends in art club, other students bully Zoe in classes and over lunch – making fun of her appearance and using anti-trans slurs. The bullying has gotten worse over the past couple of years.

Zoe has a social media account where she shares her art and connects with other trans youth. This helps her feel less isolated and more understood. Some students in Zoe’s class have found her social media accounts and have started to leave hateful comments. Sometimes they mass report her posts so they get taken down, even though she hasn’t done anything wrong.

Zoe’s parents are worried about the amount of time she spends online, especially with the bullying she is experiencing. They see her withdrawing more and more from in-person friendships. They ask her teacher to monitor her use of social media at school. Zoe often says she feels sick and avoids going to class when she can.

Discussion questions:

What risks or protective factors might Zoe have in her life? What do her support networks look like? What resources can she lean on to get support?
What kinds of barriers might keep Zoe from asking for help from teachers or school counselors?
What kinds of supportive services might be available to Zoe, both in and outside of school?
What needs might Zoe have that are unmet?
In your unique role, how would you support Zoe?

In 2023, 40% of transgender youth faced bullying at school in the past 12 months, compared to 20% of cisgender girls and 15% of cisgender boys (Suarez, et al., 2024). Many experienced bullying both online and in-person. [v]

31% of trans youth surveyed reported electronic bullying (Suarez, et al., 2024).[vi]

A quarter of trans youth sampled skipped school in the past 30 days due to feeling unsafe (Suarez, et al., 2024).

32% of transgender and nonbinary youth who were bullied attempted suicide compared to 14% who were not bullied (The Trevor Project, 2021).

As a result of anti-LGBTQ policies and debates in 2022, trans and nonbinary youth reported experiencing cyberbullying or online harassment (45%) and bullying at school (24%) (The Trevor Project, 2023).[vii]

[i] CDC. (2024). About Bullying. In Youth Violence Prevention. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/about/about-bullying.html

[ii] Soto, J. (2024). Honoring Nex Benedict, 16-Year-Old Non-Binary Student. In Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/news/honoring-nex-benedict-16-year-old-non-binary-high-school-student-who-tragically-died-after-school-beating

[iii] ICYMI: In States with Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws, School Hate Crimes Quadrupled, Washington Post Reports; Corresponding Surge in Youth Crisis Hotline Calls. (2024). In Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/icymi-in-states-with-anti-lgbtq-laws-school-hate-crimes-quadrupled-washington-post-reports-corresponding-surge-in-youth-crisis-hotline-calls

[iv] The Trevor Project. (2021). The Trevor Project Research Brief: Bullying and Suicide Risk among LGBTQ Youth. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Trevor-Project-Bullying-Research-Brief-October-2021.pdf

[v]Suarez NA, Trujillo L, McKinnon II, et al. Disparities in School Connectedness, Unstable Housing, Experiences of Violence, Mental Health, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Transgender and Cisgender High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR Suppl 2024;73(Suppl-4):50–58. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7304a6

[vi] Suarez NA, Trujillo L, McKinnon II, et al. Disparities in School Connectedness, Unstable Housing, Experiences of Violence, Mental Health, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Transgender and Cisgender High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR Suppl 2024;73(Suppl-4):50–58. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7304a6

[vii] New Poll Emphasizes Negative Impacts of Anti-LGBTQ Policies on LGBTQ Youth

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/new-poll-emphasizes-negative-impacts-of-anti-lgbtq-policies-on-lgbtq-youth/

Overview

Trans Specific Dynamics

Key Tips for Service Providers

Case Examples

Statistics

Resources