Why is the trans suicide rate so high?
Research from detransitioners and large-scale studies points to several key findings:
Transition does not reliably lower suicide risk.
The largest long-term Swedish study found that suicide mortality among fully transitioned individuals remained “strikingly high” even 10+ years after surgery, with overall mortality rising rather than falling over time. [CoolEmployment5080]Social acceptance alone does not solve the problem.
A UCLA study shows that suicide-attempt rates stay around 40 % even among trans people who report “being fully accepted as trans and always having strong family and friend support.” [badsalad]Co-occurring mental illness appears to be a stronger driver than gender dysphoria.
Multiple detransitioners note that trans people often carry several psychiatric diagnoses (an average of three, according to one cited figure) and that the elevated risk persists after medical transition, suggesting the distress may stem from underlying mental-health conditions rather than from transphobia alone. [BigGayThrow-Away, Hot_Ad_2492]Comparative evidence challenges the “transphobia” explanation.
Other marginalized groups—such as gay and lesbian people who face legal persecution in dozens of countries—do not show suicide-attempt rates approaching 40 %, indicating that oppression alone cannot account for the trans statistic. [daughter_of_bilitis, graybutch]
In short, the high suicide rate in the trans population does not appear to drop meaningfully after social or medical transition, and the evidence points to underlying mental-health burdens as a more consistent correlate than external transphobia.