The Impact of Anti-discrimination Legislation on Transgender People within the USA

Abstract

Introduction

Several state policies were introduced to offer protection and legislative remedies for the hardship experienced by transgender people. However, the impact of such policies is still unclear whether these state policies impact all transgender people the same way or to only a select subset of them. We study the effect of state policies on distress among those who used gender-affirming medical care and those who did not.

Methods

The study used the 2015 US Transgender Survey (collected by the National Center for Transgender Equality) to examine the relationship between transgender anti-discrimination policies and health. The study utilized 27,050 cases from 50 states, and linear regression modeling to see how the relationship between policy and distress differs based on the use of gender-affirming medical care.

Results

Non-discrimination, public accommodation, hate crime, and ban on Medicaid exclusion legislation were each associated with less distress only for those who did not use gender-affirming medical care, and no effect on those who did. Furthermore, having more people know about one’s transgender identity reduced distress, especially among those who used gender-affirming medical services.

Conclusions

This study found state-level anti-discrimination legislation varies in its protection of transgender people from distress. Specifically, policies were only effective for those who did not use medical services like hormones or surgeries.

Policy Implications

Transgender populations are very diverse and need policy that can encompass the diversity among transgender people. While protection from violence and discrimination is vital, so can policy protecting their access to gender-affirming care.