This is a hard read: Trans people are dying of suicide more than the general UK population. And UK government policy, which is to deny trans kids healthcare, to underfund mental health provision and to push people into conversion therapy, is a key reason why that’s the case.
Data obtained by freedom of information request from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) shows that between 2019 and 2025, there were 647 child suicides in England and Wales. Of these, 107 children were LGBTQ+ and 47 of those were trans – meaning that trans children make up 43% of LGBTQ+ suicides of under 18s, and 7% of all child suicides over this time period.
…“Inquests into the deaths of young trans people have consistently exposed years-long waits for gender-affirming healthcare, and chronic under-resourcing of mental health and social services that leaves trans people without access to support they need,” says Deborah Coles, director at Inquest, a charity that campaigns on state-related deaths. “It is clear that too often, the deaths of trans people are preventable. We are at crisis point.”