Statistics
To get more of a scale of why it's important to educate yourself, here are some statistics surrounding the trans community and those within it. All sources are linked.
Poverty
"Trans people live in poverty at elevated rates, and for trans people of color, these rates are even higher. Around 29% of trans adults live in poverty, as well 39% of Black trans adults, 48% of Latinx trans adults and 35% of Alaska Native, Asian, Native Americans and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander trans adults." 1
Discrimination
"About half a decade ago, only one-quarter of people in the United States supported trans rights, and support increased to 62% by the year 2019. Only 30% of women’s shelters are willing to house trans women. While recent legal progress has been made, 27% of trans people have been fired, not hired or denied a promotion due to their trans identity. HRC Foundation’s research shows that 49% of trans adults, and 55% of trans adults of color said they were unable to vote in at least one election in their life because of fear of or experiencing discrimination at the polls." 1
Violence
"Trans people experience violence at rates far greater than the average person. Over a majority (54%) of trans people have experienced some form of intimate partner violence, 47% have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime and nearly one in ten were physically assaulted in between 2014 and 2015. This type of violence can be fatal. At least 27 trans and gender non-conforming people have been violently killed in 2020 thus far, the same number of fatalities observed in 2019." 1
Health Care
"An HRC Foundation analysis found that 22% of trans people and 32% of trans people of color have no health insurance coverage. More than one-quarter (29%) of trans adults have been refused health care by a doctor or provider because of their gender identity" 1
Suicide Rates
"40% of transgender adults have attempted suicide in their lifetime, compared to less than 5% of the general U.S. population." 2
Mental Illness
"Transgender individuals who had received a diagnosis of gender incongruence were six times more likely to have a mood or anxiety disorder than the general population, three times as likely to be prescribed antidepressants and antianxiety medications, more than six times as likely to attempt suicide resulting in hospitalization." 4