Understanding Issues Affecting Transgendered Youth
| Jurisdiction | California,United States |
| Author | Avi Levy and Nathan Gabbard |
| Publication year | 2017 |
| Citation | Vol. 39 No. 1 |
Avi Levy and Nathan Gabbard
Avi Levy is a partner at Trabolsi & Levy, LLP, a family law firm in Santa Monica, CA. He has been practicing family law exclusively since 2002, and became a Certified Family Law Specialist in 2011. He is uniquely involved in the development of family law legislation as Chair of Affirmative/Developing Legislation for the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California. Mr. Levy is also the Chair of Legislation for the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, is on the Board of Directors of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, and is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and the Family Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Levy was designated as a "Super Lawyer Rising Star" in the July 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016 editions of the Los Angeles Magazine.
Nathan W. Gabbard practices family law at Trabolsi & Levy, LLP in Santa Monica, CA. He graduated from Southwestern Law School and was licensed by the California State Bar in 2009, and is certified as a Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He participates in the Los Angeles Regional Legislative Committee, served on the Executive Committee of the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles and is a member of the Leadership Council for the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice ("LACLJ"). In the past, Mr. Gabbard has volunteered as a presenter of Safer Community workshops, providing information and opening a dialogue with incoming college students about domestic violence.
Despite the fact that family law clients typically present a wide range of issues to their respective lawyers, they share a common emotional concern and uncertainty about what the future holds for their loved ones. As family lawyers, it is important that we tailor our professional guidance to each individual client based on his or her unique needs and that this counsel reflects the ever-evolving legal climate.
A key issue in our current legal climate is that of transgender youth and the associated legal issues, which require family lawyers to practice contemplative counseling and informed advocacy and awareness. Every family law practitioner must understand these issues. The purpose of this article is to further that understanding.
According to recent estimates, approximately 0.6% of the adult population in America identify as transgender. This equals roughly 1.4 million self-identifying transgender individuals1 Compared with older adults, young adults are even more likely to identify as transgender. Among adults ages eighteen to twenty-fout, 0.7% identify as transgender; among adults ages twenty-five to sixty-four, 0.6% identify as transgender; and among adults ages sixty-five and older, 0.5% identify as transgender. In the County of Los Angeles alone, there are an estimated 14,428 transgender adults.2
Statistics about the number of children who identify as transgender, however, are less readily available. In fact, there is little or no data available on the number of young children in the U.S. who currently identify as transgender. Experts argue that it is difficult to obtain accurate data when information about young children must be obtained through their parents, who are unaware that their child identifies as transgender. Nonetheless, it has been suggested by some developmental psychologists that children as young as two or three may express a gender identity different from what was assigned to them at birth.3
Despite the difficulty in obtaining accurate national population estimates for transgender youth, information is available regarding those who seek services through local organizations. Between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016, the Los Angeles LGBT Center provided services to 1,030 homeless youth, of which 55% identified as male, 30% identified as female, 12% identified as transgender, and 3% stated "other identity." From this twelve-month sampling alone, however, we see that at least 123 individual youth have identified as transgender.4
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On September 29, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation5 that requires single-occupancy restrooms in California businesses, government buildings, and places of public accommodation to be universally accessible to all genders. The law will take effect on March 1, 2017.
On October 28, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G ("G.G.").6 The case...
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