CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide and/or self-harm. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, dial 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. View options for mental health services on campus through University Health Services.

President-elect Donald Trump has appeared to oppose transgender rights in the days leading up to Election Day through his demeaning language, misrepresentations and pledging to dismantle civil rights protections for transgender students, according to AP News.

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts for LGBTQ+ people, reported an overall increase of nearly 700% in calls and chats to its mental health crisis services Nov. 6, the day after the 2024 election, according to the organization’s website.

University of Wisconsin Professor of Southeast Asian Studies and chair of the LGBTQ+ Committee Tyrell Haberkorn said Trump’s rhetoric has a strong and dangerous effect on the trans community.

“Trump’s election is a danger to everyone in the country and everyone in the world, full stop,” Haberkorn said. “But I think it’s profoundly concerning and dangerous for trans people — especially young trans people.”

Trump said he would ask Congress to pass a bill stating there are “only two genders” and banning hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender youth in the entire U.S., according to AP News.

In the U.S., 3.3% of high school students identify as transgender and 2.2% question their gender, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey released in October.

UW professor and director of the undergraduate LGBTQ+ studies certificate program Finn Enke said the Trump campaign’s rhetoric and actions surrounding trans people make hateful rhetoric and questioning whether trans and non-binary people should exist seem acceptable — when it is unacceptable and misinformed.

“This last election cycle put a continuous stream of misinformed, hateful anti-trans discourse into the airwaves, spreading fear and hatred and inaccuracy,” Enke said in a follow-up email. “We are seeing many of the things that make our lives possible being taken away.”

Enke said trans people are being targeted as never seen before regarding basic health care and well-being.

Enke said Trump’s efforts against the trans community are especially dangerous to young people and said it is not clear how trans youth will be able to continue to learn and thrive at this important stage in their development.

“[Anti-trans rhetoric] doesn’t only affect people who are currently identifying as trans or non-binary,” Enke said. “It affects everybody and makes everybody feel very cautious about expressing any kind of question or complexity around gender expression or gender identity.”

Trump’s upcoming presidency should not be a time for UW to be neutral on this topic, and it is essential for the university to be visibly supportive of trans students and of queer students generally, Haberkorn said.

Haberkorn said she is concerned about how UW’s new guidelines on political expression will play out during Trump’s upcoming presidency. According to the UW System’s interim policy, institutional statements issued by university leaders should maintain viewpoint neutrality in any reference to any matter of political or social controversy.

“We [campus community] have to be explicitly supportive and explicitly loud, to say over and over again to trans students that they are welcome here and we will do what we can to keep you safe,” Haberkorn said.

Enke said UW provides teach-ins that educate people who are not transgender about the impact of anti-trans bills, measures, rhetoric and how to provide support to trans peers. UW has good healthcare resources for trans and non-binary students, and they need to be protected and expanded, Enke said.

Enke said they hope UW and allies will push back against any efforts to shut down gender-affirming health care and other resources.

“I want to really be able to trust that the university is going to come through and say, ‘no, these things are not up for questioning, they’re not up for challenging, we will protect our students,’” Enke said.

Enke and Haberkorn both commented on the significance of allies in the fight to preserve the rights and safety of queer and transgender people.

Haberkorn said despite the increased hateful rhetoric and efforts against the queer community, she feels a strong sense of community, and many people are going to push back against hate and fear.

Enke said it is important for allies to support trans people through advocating for trans rights — like donating to support people’s legal name changes or attending educational teach-ins, but also checking up on friends who are transgender.

“We are faced daily with hateful rhetoric, and it’s important to be reminded that there are also allies who are paying attention, who care, and who will not allow voices or policies of hate and exclusion to have the last word,” Enke said in an email statement.

In conversations with colleagues and students after Trump’s election, Haberkorn said she felt a sense that people have realized the reality of the situation, and are now preparing to fight back. She sees hope in that fight and says the next four years will be survived through action and hope.

Enke said they are consistently amazed by the diversity and tenacity of the students at UW.

“Some things can be suppressed, but you can’t suppress the creativity of trans and non-binary people to continue to support one another and continue to find ways to thrive, and to continue to bring themselves to the world and continue to transform the world,” Enke said.

Resources regarding suicide prevention and mental health:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 https://988lifeline.org/help-yourself/loss-survivors/

• Crisis Text line: Text HOME to 741741 https://www.crisistextline.org/

• Trevor Lifeline crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) young people: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/
• UHS 24/7 crisis support 608-265-5600 (option 9)
• UHS suicide prevention resources: https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/prevention/suicide-prevention/