Experiences of Trans and Non-Binary students Navigating Pathways to Inclusion and Belonging at Western Sydney University: An Exploratory Study

Transgender youth in Australia are four times more likely than cisgender youth to experience depressive symptoms (judcom 2023), and 15 times more likely to attempt suicide. The Fuelling Hate project, conducted in 2023, provides stark findings from the largest sample size of transgender and non-binary (TNB) participants in Australia. It showed that since 2020, an increase in trans-hate was experienced by 84% of the participants (Fuelling Hate Report 2023 p.16). 40% of participants experienced a significant increase in online hate since 2020, and 1 in 2 transgender people had experienced in-person anti-trans hate within the past year. The report suggests that an increase in transphobia is a result of anti-trans rhetoric produced through media and political outlets, including the spread of disinformation about TNB topics (Fuelling Hate Report 2023). These experiences occurred in a range of life areas for TNB young people, including in higher education.