Lucy Clelland
Age 1621 Apr 2023
North Lanarkshire, Scotland (United Kingdom)
Suicide
Lucy died by suicide while on the waiting list for the Sandyford Scottish youth gender clinic.
In April of this year, my best friend Lucy took her own life after a life of struggle after struggle. She was a trans-feminine 16 year old who identified as both a trans woman and non-binary individual.
She suffered from bullying and harassment over her identity and I woke up on the 22nd of April to the police at my door - they informed me of her death the day prior.
Despite her trying her best, her struggles got too big for her to manage. She had been thinking about her future, and hoped to go into cyber security. She will never have that chance.
This year would've been her last one of secondary school here in Scotland. Although she was open about her identity with all of her friends, her parents hadn't quite managed to wrap their heads around it yet and so she wasn't able to be herself in death. Her funeral video, which is up on YouTube, is a constant reminder of the ignorance surrounding her identity. I don't want Lucy's legacy to be one of a boy who never existed. She was a confident and headstrong young woman who knew herself in and out and who then got to know me in and out. I feel her loss keenly each and every day.
(by email)
Lucy was known by a different name to her family but Lucy was how she was known online and to all of her friends. She was "desperate to medically transition" & was on the waiting list for the Sandyford the Scottish youth gender clinic.
"Lucy loved so many things, & so deeply. She was in the process of being diagnosed with autism when she loved something it was all she could talk about". She loved listening to music for hours. "She loved computing, & would've gone to university for cyber security".
She was a "straight A" student in maths, & she loved maps & geography, & "would make her own make pretend continents and flags for fun". She loved "woolly jumpers & pretty skirts". Lucy was not supported in her gender identity at home. There is no public record of Lucy's name.
I would like to write more about Lucy but to do so risks contravening guidelines on reporting deaths. I hope in the future I am able to do so, & am thankful to Lucy's friends who shared their memories of her.
https://x.com/DadTrans/status/1816619782776512691
