Biden’s executive order is a strong step forward — as LGBTQ youth need support

It was inspiring to be at the White House’s Pride celebration last week, surrounded by fellow LGBTQ leaders and the young people we serve, as President Biden not only acknowledged Pride Month but took historic action to advance the rights of LGBTQ Americans. 

The executive order touches upon many top policy priorities that The Trevor Project and our movement partners have been working on for years, including working to end the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion “therapy,” expanding the collection of LGBTQ-inclusive data across the federal government, protecting transgender and nonbinary young people’s access to gender-affirming care, and investing in suicide prevention resources. If implemented effectively, these initiatives can help save young LGBTQ lives.

This strong showing of support for the LGBTQ community comes at a time when we need it most. This year alone, our community has had to fight more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills, most targeting transgender and nonbinary youth. The onslaught of legislation includes laws that threaten to prosecute parents and doctors who provide gender-affirming health care, as well as laws that censor books and lessons in schools related to LGBTQ topics. 

Twenty-five anti-LGBTQ bills have passed, and thankfully, several have already been blocked in court or continue to be actively challenged. But the heated, public debates around these policies have generated a marked increase in threats and harassment against LGBTQ young people and their families. LGBTQ youth are watching, and what they see scares them.

As a suicide prevention and mental health organization, we at The Trevor Project strongly believe that supporting LGBTQ children should transcend political and cultural divides. We know that LGBTQ youth suicide is a public health crisis. Our research has found that 45 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. This is about saving lives. We must come together to equip young people with the tools they need to not only survive, but thrive.

It’s past time we finally put an end to so-called conversion “therapy” which attempts to change a person’s LGBTQ identity. The medical and scientific community has been clear that we should be expanding access and eliminating barriers to the LGBTQ-affirming medical and mental health care that so many LGBTQ young people are desperate to receive. In the midst of a mental health crisis — and a nation still processing the lingering impacts of COVID-19 loss and isolation — we must ensure that young people have access to the care they need. 

That’s also why it is so crucial that our schools become properly equipped with suicide prevention resources for LGBTQ students, as this executive order demands. Just over half of LGBTQ youth report that their schools are affirming spaces — and we know that when LGBTQ students feel affirmed at school, they report lower rates of attempting suicide.

Beyond schools, our nation’s crisis care system is long overdue for transformation, and 988, the new three-digit code for the national suicide prevention lifeline that will launch on July 16, provides us with a prime opportunity to reimagine responses to mental health crises. We are hopeful that this executive order will help ensure 988 is designed equitably, with specialized services for LGBTQ youth, who attempt suicide at more than four times the rate of their peers. 

We know that LGBTQ youth are disproportionately impacted by victimization and discrimination, which contributes to increased mental health challenges and suicide risk. However, we can’t grasp the full scope of these problems without robust, national data collected for LGBTQ Americans. President Biden’s executive order calls for the advancement of systematic data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity across federal agencies, which will be critical information for researchers and policymakers. 

After years of tireless work from advocates across the country, we’re finally seeing people in positions of power take serious steps toward addressing these issues. There are so many issues impacting, and threatening, the lives of LGBTQ people every day in this country. With at least 14 transgender people murdered this year — most of whom are women of color — 2022 is on track to become the deadliest year on record for the trans community, yet again. This executive order is a critical opportunity to listen and learn from the most marginalized among us and take action. 

Being surrounded by so many joyful LGBTQ people at the White House was an energizing moment of celebration after months of seemingly endless bad news. As we continue to witness homophobic and transphobic attacks against our community and grapple with concerns around safety at Pride events, the road ahead will be long and filled with challenges. 

But we must continue celebrating our pride, our existence, and our victories after so many years of tireless advocacy in the face of adversity. I’m grateful to this administration for taking this important, historic step toward advancing so many long-sought LGBTQ-inclusive policies that will help us better support LGBTQ young people who deserve love, support, and respect. 

Amit Paley is CEO of The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.