Disabled and Deaf Trans People’s Survey Fact Sheet
Discrimination & Oppression
The Disabled and Deaf Trans People’s Survey (DTPS) is a groundbreaking effort by the Disability Project of Transgender Law Center to design and deliver a disability and trans led survey about the lives of disabled and Deaf trans folks in the United States. The DTPS sought to document and amplify the experiences, needs, and priorities of disabled and Deaf trans people. Too often, due to ableism, eugenics, and anti-Black racism, our cultural and collective knowledge and perspectives have been overlooked in research, making it harder specifically for Black, brown, Indigenous, queer, trans, undocumented, and poor disabled and Deaf communities to advocate for the changes we deserve.
The DTPS team is deeply committed to honoring the trust that so many of our folks placed in us by taking the survey. In releasing this series of fact sheets, it is our hope that the findings from the DTPS provides a useful tool for the vital work ahead of shifting narratives, organizing across historic divides, and building collective power.
The findings below illuminate the way survey participants experience systemic oppression and reveal alarmingly high rates of mistreatment, particularly among Black and Indigenous participants.
Mistreatment in Health Care, Education and Social Services
Everyone deserves access to safe, affirming healthcare, education, and resources that support their ability to live and thrive. Yet, disabled and Deaf trans people continue to face disproportionately high rates of mistreatment and violence within these systems.
Healthcare
- 86% of participants reported mistreatment or judgement by a healthcare provider.
- 54% of participants reported being outright denied medical care.
Education
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35%of participants were discouraged by a teacher or advisor from continuing their education.
- This was particularly true for participants with certain disabilities. 1 in 2 participants with traumatic brain injuries, intellectual or cognitive disabilities or those who are blind or have low vision were discouraged from continuing their education.
Social Services
- 42% of those who applied for social services or public benefits reported being mistreated during the application process, and more than half were denied access to these essential resources.
- 1 in 4 of those who sought housing or shelter were denied it.
- 41% of participants were forced or pressured to stay in an institutional facility, such as a psychiatric hospital, group home, or long-term care facility.
- More than 2 in 5Black participants who sought housing or shelter were denied it.
Police Violence
1 in 2 Indigenous participants and 2 in 3 Black participants have been stopped, searched, questioned, physically threatened, or abused by law enforcement, like police, border patrol, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
For many participants, these interactions can be dangerous and life-threatening.
- Nearly 2 out of 3 participants worry that they may be seriously injured or killed if they interact with police
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The vast majority of Black participants (95%) expressed this concern.
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1 in 12 participants have been held in a prison, jail, juvenile or immigration detention center.
Experiences with Violence
Conclusion
These findings make clear that disabled and Deaf trans people face pervasive discrimination, violence, and systemic barriers across nearly every aspect of life. A combination of factors leads to high levels of violence against disabled and Deaf people, and none of these land on all disabled or Deaf people equally. Two in three Black participants and one in two Indigenous participants have been stopped, faced violence, or felt unsafe by police or immigration officers. This is a critical illustration of how anti-Black racism, and white supremacist ideology is linked to the well being and very lives of Black, brown, poor, (im)migrant, disabled, Deaf trans people.
What is most appalling, and yet unfortunately unsurprising for those of us in community, is the alarmingly high number of participants who reported experiencing violence, or abuse from another person such as physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse. We know violence happens in isolation, and so many disabled and Deaf people, especially those who are institutionalized in group homes, psychiatric institutionalizations, incarcerated in prisons and jails and even bound to home care with family caregivers, are often the most isolated of our people, who have the least amount of autonomy.
Addressing these injustices requires urgent action to ensure safety, dignity, and access to the resources and opportunities everyone deserves. Especially as we continue to witness the continual escalation of fascism and eugenic logic.
As trans, non-binary, disabled and Deaf organizers we know we are each more than the oppression we navigate, more than the discrimination we face: we manage with creativity, wit, laughter and tenacity. Yet, because of the nature of what we endure – its scope, scale and impact – and that so few folks know of it outside ourselves, we are compelled to reveal the pervasiveness of the discrimination and systemic oppression.
About the Disabled and Deaf Trans People’s Survey
Open to all trans and nonbinary disabled and Deaf adults in the U.S., the survey was accessible in ASL, Spanish, and English in both spoken and written forms. To keep the survey short and accessible, the DTPS was broken into five different topics and participants were able to choose which sections they wanted to engage with. The information represented in this fact sheet is from two sections of the survey: Tell Us About Yourself (n=1,563) and Discrimination and Oppression (n=1,271). This survey was possible due to the innumerable trans, disabled, Deaf, and ill community members who generously gave advice, direction, and reflection.
We worked in close collaboration with disabled community based strategic advisors Ma’ayan Anafi, and Akemi Nishida and the research team of Ash Stephens and Emily Maurin-Waters.