Running head: WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

To Form a More Perfect Union

The most recent nationwide study on the transgender community revealed there were

approximately 1.4 million people living in the United States that identified as transgender in

2014 and Arkansas was home to an estimated 13,400 people that identified as transgender,

(Flores, Herman, Gates, & Brown, 2016, p. 3). However, there is an increasing amount of

evidence that has found that the community’s numbers have increased since the last study was

conducted. Nonetheless, this indicates that there are over 13 thousand people living in Arkansas

that are being treated unequally because they do not fit the social standards of reining politicians

and society.

The Preamble to the United States Constitution (1787), the very framework of the United

States, states that the purpose of the governing document is to “form a more perfect union,

establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the

general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” If the

foundation of America was founded on fairness, peacefulness, protection, well-being, and

freedom, then why are individuals being denied basic human rights? In addition to the United

States Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag states, “…, indivisible, with

liberty and justice for all.” However, the very government that upholds such strong themes of

interconnectedness and empowerment is the same government that is defending the alienation,

suppression, and prejudice treatment of members of the LGBTQ community by protecting laws

that discriminate against these individuals. The individuals that endure such bigotry are the same

individuals that are funding the salaries of the elite policymakers and saluting the same flag that

promises liberty and justice for all. This is heartbreaking and dishonorable.
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Federal Inequality

The Human Rights Campaign (2017) explains that “federal law does not provide consistent non-

discrimination protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity” and that individual

states are given the option to independently govern such laws. The laws in place to protect

against sexual orientation discrimination must specifically include gender identity in the

definition of sexual orientation. Presently, members of the transgender community are facing

discrimination in housing, employment, educational settings, and even in receiving medical care.

The American Civil Liberties Union (2017) explained that even though Medicare does cover

transition related hormone therapy, consumers are struggling to find surgeons that are willing to

perform gender transformation surgeries due to Medicare’s low reimbursement rates.

Prevalence of Discrimination

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) conducted research in 2015 that

examined the experiences of transgender people in the United States. The 27,715 respondents,

from all 50 states, took part in an anonymous, online survey that found a disturbing pattern of

discrimination and mistreatment among transgender people (James et al., 2016). According to

the study, 30% of respondents had experienced workplace discrimination, 40% had attempted

suicide, 46% had been verbally harassed, 58% reported mistreatment by police, 77% had

experienced discrimination while in school, and 59% of respondents had avoided using a public

restroom due to fear (James et al., 2016).

Of the 27,715 surveyed in the NCTE study, only 222 of the respondents were from

Arkansas (James et al., 2016). The study found that of those 222 respondents, 37% lived in

poverty, 82% had been mistreated in school, 62% avoided using a public restroom, and 65% had
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experienced mistreatment by police (James et al., 2016). In addition to these statistics, the

Human Rights Campaign (2017) illustrates that Arkansas does not have laws that prohibit

housing discrimination, hate or bias crimes, employment discrimination, discrimination in public

accommodations, or discrimination against students based on sexual orientation and gender

identity. Arkansas also has no ban on insurance exclusions for transgender healthcare according

to the Human Rights Campaign (2017) data. However, according to government websites,

Arkansans can change their name and gender on government documents but they must attain

documentation from a surgeon to present to a judge that does have the right to deny the request.

Implications for Social Work

A social problem can be defined as “an issue within the society that makes it difficult for

people to achieve their full potential” (Glicken, 2011, p. 6). The members of the transgender

community are unable to reach their full potential due to the amount of turmoil and oppression

they endure each day. To verbally or physically attack a fellow human-being for using a public

restroom is inhumane, regardless of what the symbol on the door may say. These attacks cause

considerable damage to the recipients. Research has found that mental health problems are more

prevalent in LGBT subpopulations and that “rates of co-occurring substance use disorders,

anxiety disorders, depression, and suicide tend to be higher for transgender people than for LGB

individuals” (“Social Stress,” 2016).

Social workers are committed to abide by the core values that have been

published in the profession’s code of ethics by the National Association of Social Workers. The

values listed in the code of ethics are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person,

importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (National Association of Social

Workers, 2008). The ethical principles state that “social workers’ primary goal is to help people
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in need and to address social problems,” “to challenge injustice,” and to “respect the inherent

dignity and worth of the person,” (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). Ethically,

social workers have a responsibility to the transgender community and should advocate for the

basic human rights that every human deserves, regardless of any personal characteristics.

It is a grave injustice that the American government is sustaining the abuse that so many

individuals endure daily. The members of the transgender community are fellow humans and

American citizens that are hurting. If the administration is unwilling to stand up for the very

people they were employed to support then social workers must work harder to ensure the fair

treatment of these individuals, and not because it’s in the Social Work Code of Ethics, but

because it’s the right thing to do.

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References

American Civil Liberties Union. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/

Flores, A. R., Herman, J. L., Gates, G. J., & Brown, T. N. (2016). How many adults identify as

transgender in the United States? (pp. 1-13, Rep.). Lose Angeles, CA: The Williams

Institute. Retrieved from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/How-

Many-Adults-Identify-as-Transgender-in-the-United-States

Glicken, M. D. (2011). Social work in the 21st century: an introduction to social welfare, social

issues, and the profession (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Human Rights Campaign (2017). Advocating for LGBTQ Equality. Retrieved from

http://www.hrc.org/

James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016,

December). The report of the 2015 U.S. transgender survey (Rep.). Retrieved

http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS%20Full%20Report%20-

%20FINAL%201.6.17

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the national

association of social workers. Retrieved from:
https://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp
Sexuality, mental health outcomes, and social stress (2016). New Atlantis: A Journal of

Technology & Society, 50, 59-85

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