@irrationalNinja
I am going to ignore the personal attacks and I'm just going to provide the facts for you.
The study is not comparing the suicide rate of transgender people before and after transitioning... it is comparing the suicide rate of transgender people to the cisgender population. This is a simple thing that you seem incapable of comprehending. It is not even studying whether transitioning is a helpful treatment because it had already been established that it was beneficial and that it alleviates gender dysphoria.
Everything I said is perfectly accurate in regards to what the study actually states. You can easily see this in the study itself. The conclusion says this:
Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population... Even though surgery and hormonal therapy alleviates gender dysphoria, it is apparently not sufficient to remedy the high rates of morbidity and mortality found among transsexual persons. Improved care for the transsexual group after the sex reassignment should therefore be considered.
If you even bothered to exercise reading comprehension you can easily see that it is comparing the suicide rate of transgender people to the rest of the general population and not to transgender people before transitioning... as demonstrated by the words: "
than the general population". I don't know why I have to explain this to you, but the "general population" is not referring to pre-transitioned transgender people, it is referring to the rest of the population of
non-transgender people.
And if you read further you would see that the study directly states that transitioning alleviates gender dysphoria and is beneficial in that way. It says, "
surgery and hormonal therapy alleviates gender dysphoria"... Which means that it acknowledges that transitioning fixes gender dysphoria.
This is just one small paragraph from the entire study and it already disproves what you are claiming it says.
But the study goes on to state that although transitioning is beneficial and necessary in treatment, transgender people still have a higher suicide rate
compared to the cisgender population and that improved care would be needed. Doctor Dhejne (the person who ran the study) has stated that improved care refers to increased social support for transgender people, and personally tailored care that is focused on the specific needs of the individual... so people can transition in the manner and to the extent that is best for them, and have support from their community.
The study began in the 70s, when transgender people faced even more discrimination than they do now... and at that time, transitioning was not sufficient enough to bring the transgender suicide rate to the same level as the cisgender suicide rate. Even though it helped to lower the suicide rate, it just was not enough... This was specifically due to the terrible social climate that transgender people were in. They had very little access to proper care and they did not have many support systems. They were treated as subhuman and being treated that way can easily lead a lot of people to take their own lives. Even if they are happy with their body and their transition, trans people are not going to want to live in a world where they have no rights and are treated as less than human... no one would.
But since the study took place over a long span of time (1973-2003) they observed the social climate changing and care improving. The data showed that during the 70s, when the social climate was very against transgender people, their suicide rate was high. But over time as they gained more acceptance, support, and personally tailored care, the suicide rate leveled out to be equal to the rest of the population after transitioning.
The study was separated into two cohort groups, one spanning 1973-1988 and the other going from 1989-2003. The 1973-1988 cohort showed a suicide rate higher than the cisgender population. The 1989-2003 cohort showed a suicide rate equal to the cisgender population.
As you should be able to discern by now, the study was not structured to evaluate the validity transitioning, it was specifically studying what transgender people needed
in addition to transitioning at that time. What the study concluded was that societal support and acceptance along with personally tailored care in
addition to transitioning is what levels the transgender suicide rate to be equal to the cisgender suicide rate. And subsequent studies have show the same things... the trans suicide rate is equal to the cisgender suicide rate when transgender people are able to transition in a positive social climate.
Transitioning has consistently been proven to help transgender people. It alleviates gender dysphoria and saves lives... without question, it is a beneficial treatment. Like I said, if transitioning was not beneficial, no one would seek it or recommend it... but it has been proven to be beneficial. Transitioning literally saves lives.
Here are some quotes from Dr. Dhejne (from a
Reddit AMA where she answers questions about her study) clarifying exactly what I've told you:
I have said many times that the study is not design to evaluate the outcome of medical transition. It DOES NOT say that medical transition causes people to commit suicide.
The study was not designed to answer the question if gender-affirming surgery causes mortality suicide or criminality so it could not be used to say that gender-affirming surgery causes death... To my knowledge there is no study that had showed that suicide attempts in the transgender group is due to that they regret transition. However there are some studies showing an association with suicidality and minority stress (Bauer et al 2015; Bockting et al 2013; Marchall et al 2015).
@Rodreezus
Here is an interview with Doctor Cecilia Dhejne, the woman who conducted the study. She has come out herself and said that people are not accurately portraying her study. She says that people are completely misinterpreting what it says.
http://www.transadvocate.com/fact-check-study-shows-transition-makes-trans-people-suicidal_n_15483.htm
Here are some quotes from that interview that highlight what I have been trying to explain to you guys:
The difference we observed between the 1989 to 2003 cohort and the control group is that the trans cohort group accessed more mental health care, which is appropriate given the level of ongoing discrimination the group faces. What the data tells us is that things are getting measurably better and the issues we found affecting the 1973 to 1988 cohort group likely reflects a time when trans health and psychological care was less effective and social stigma was far worse.
Trans people as a group also experience significant social oppression in the form of bullying, abuse, r*pe and hate crimes. Medical transition alone won’t resolve the effects of crushing social oppression: social anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress. What we’ve found is that treatment models which ignore the effect of cultural oppression and outright hate aren’t enough. We need to understand that our treatment models must be responsive to not only gender dysphoria, but the effects of anti-trans hate as well. That’s what improved care means.
People who misuse the study always omit the fact that the study clearly states that it is not an evaluation of gender dysphoria treatment.
People are deliberately using this study to claim false things about transgender people. The study does not support those false claims. The data is against what you are saying and the person who conducted the study is telling you that those claims are false... I think it's time for you guys to accept the facts. To put it simply, transitioning alleviates transgender people's gender dysphoria but it does not eliminate the social discrimination they face that causes them to commit suicide. But when the social climate improves and trans people are treated like human beings and are allowed to transition with the support of their communities, their mental health improves and the suicide rate becomes normal... (
Who could've guessed!)