Protect Trans Youth
Washington has a beautifully rich community of young people. We have all experienced going through childhood and young adulthood. You might even be in these stages now. Youth is a universal experience that is both exciting and complicated by puberty, school, relationships, cultural practices, first jobs, and so much more. It should not be an experience clouded by hate or abuse.
While we all have experienced childhood and being a teenager, not everyone knows what it is like to be a transgender (trans) youth in this current political climate. It is difficult for transgender youth in our country right now, and it shouldn’t be.
The Washington State Office of Equity believes that transgender kids deserve the right to be themselves and experience the joy of childhood. We know that trans children are asking for the love and safety that every child deserves. Our office believes that transgender youth know who they are and that they are the experts of their own experience.
We believe trans women are women; trans girls are girls.
We believe trans men are men; trans boys are boys.
We believe that non-binary people know who they are.
Our role is to honor and respect all that makes a person who they are.
We are committed to support all trans and non-binary Washingtonians.
Governor Ferguson recently said, "The transgender community, in particular, is under attack right now, including their ability to access health care. As you know, if an individual’s sex assigned at birth is incongruent with their innate gender identity, this can cause varying degrees of gender dysphoria, a serious medical condition. That's not a political opinion – that's a medical fact. Health care provided to treat gender dysphoria is just that – it’s health care. In Washington state, we will not treat health care like a political football."
The result of untreated gender dysphoria is too often death. Suicide rates among transgender and nonbinary youth are much higher than those of other young people, showing a serious mental health crisis. A 2024 study by the Trevor Project found that 43-52% of trans youth contemplated suicide within the last year before the study was taken. Even more distressing is that 13-18% of those children actually tried to take their own lives. Of this attempted number, the vast majority of those youth were Indigenous/Native, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian American/Pacific Islander, or multiracial.
Federal and state agencies have made transgender youth a target. These entities are threatening children’s basic human rights - from their health care to their participation in sports to their right to be in public spaces. We aren’t immune to these threats in Washington. Out of fear of losing funding, hospitals are removing protections, denying health care, and closing clinics. Though none of them passed Washington State Legislature, there were 9 bills this legislative session that affect transgender people, with most of them targeting transgender youth.
On February 17th, 2026, Office of Equity Director Megan Matthews signed onto a comment letter drafted by Governor Bob Ferguson’s office and other partners in response to a proposed new rule by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This letter, submitted to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urges the United States Department of Health and Human Services to withdraw new rules that would make it difficult for Washington State to provide quality healthcare to transgender and gender-diverse individuals. It also includes the Washington LGBTQ+ Survey Report 2025 put together by the Washington State LGBTQ Commission. You can read this letter and survey report here.
We are grateful to live in a state that continues to work to meet the needs of everyone who lives here. Yet we are not immune to actions that are occurring nationally. We want to state clearly: legalizing transphobia does not protect children. We must continue to protect children. Families and doctors are the ones who care for transgender children’s health and know what is best for them, not politicians. Transgender students should be able to participate in the sports they love like their peers, experiencing a sense of belonging and thriving. Youth should be able to exist in public safely without strangers’ scrutiny or body policing.
The Washington State Office of Equity believes in a Washington for All. Creating a Washington for all requires us all to work together. It requires thorough conversations so we can all experience dignity and respect. We should encourage these discussions. However, our discussions and solutions must start from the non-negotiable that each person is a human being who deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe that our state can be a place where we all, especially transgender youth, are seen, heard, and valued. We ask you to join us in this important work.
Be the person who brings us together - not pushes us apart - so we can all be treated with respect and dignity.
Resources
If you have experienced or witnessed a hate crime or bias incident, we encourage you to report it here.
We encourage you to check out the LGBTQ+ Resources on our Washington for All website. Want to share resources with us? Submit through the Share Your Resources! link.
Make sure to visit the Rainbow Resource Hub, put together by the Washington State LGBTQ Commission. You can also find more resources and information specifically about 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth here.
We put some resources together specifically for educators and allies of transgender students: Trans Student Educational Resources, Student Affairs Now – Trans* On Campus: Lessons from Research and Recent Scholarship, & LGBT+ Resources from the Washington Education Association.
We also wanted to share some resources for the transgender youth in your life: Stonewall Youth & It Gets Better.
Thank you for your support as we protect trans youth.
Need translation of Office of Equity materials? Email access@equity.wa.gov
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Communicating a Washington for All,
The Washington State Office of Equity Team
equity.wa.gov | Subscribe to stay connected with us!
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