The family of a young trans woman who is believed to have taken her own life have said she was “failed by those tasked with her care”, as the coroner investigating her death described services for transgender people as “underfunded and insufficiently resourced”.
Alice Litman had been waiting to receive gender-affirming healthcare for more than three years when she died in Brighton at the age of 20 in May 2022.
Ahead of an inquest which began in Hove on Monday, her mother, Dr Caroline Litman, described Alice’s death as “preventable with access to the right support”.
Adjourning the inquest on Wednesday to give a narrative conclusion in two weeks’ time, the coroner Sarah Clarke told the court: “It seems to me that all of these services are underfunded and insufficiently resourced for the level of need that the society we live in now presents.
“It’s extremely important we recognise how important these issues are, not just here in Brighton and Hove but everywhere.”
The court heard Litman, whose family remember her as a beautiful dancer, a keen scientist and star-gazer, first told those closest to her that she wanted to live as a woman in 2018.
She was referred to the NHS Gender Identity Development Service in 2019, and was subsequently transferred to the Tavistock gender identity clinic after she turned 18, but was still waiting for an initial assessment when she died.
After the adjournment, Litman’s family said in a statement: “Alice was beautiful and she made our lives better but we believe she was failed by those tasked with her care. Trans people should be able to access gender-affirming care when they need it. But as the inquest heard about Alice’s experience, trans people encounter barriers every step of the way.”
Describing the trans healthcare system as “not fit for purpose”, the family, who are being supported by the Good Law Project, added: “We are grateful that the coroner has agreed that the conditions of Alice’s death warrant a report to prevent future deaths.”
They had previously observed that they had been “flooded with hateful comments” about the young woman they knew as a “beloved daughter, sister and friend” during the inquest – evidence, they believe, of a growing hostility towards transgender issues.
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The court heard that Litman was referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in 2019 after a suicide attempt, which was repeated later that year, but in March 2020, after she had turned 18, was discharged from mental health services altogether. Her mother, who was an NHS psychiatrist for 12 years, described her as being “suddenly cast out of care”.
A spokesperson for the Tavistock gender identity clinic said: “We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of a patient who was waiting to be seen at our gender identity clinic and offer our condolences to her loved ones. It would not be appropriate to comment while the inquest is ongoing.”
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In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
