DC Council Members are voting on the annual Budget Request Act on Wednesday, May 22. There are two items in the budget that need your support TODAY to help fight for trans justice.   

Lakiesha Washington poses with the judge’s order that the John L Young shelter be open to transgender women.

Shelter that discriminated against transgender woman agrees to stop discriminating, train its staff on trans sensitivity, and make its facilities safer for trans people

A DC transgender resident named Lakiesha Washington, Transgender Health Empowerment (a drop-in center for LGBT people), and DC Trans Coalition have won a major victory for transgender homeless people.

As the Washington Blade reported earlier this week, Lakiesha Washington sued New Hope Ministries–operator of the John L Young Women’s Shelter–for discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. On April 3, 2013, Washington attempted to get a bed in the John L Young Shelter, and was turned away, being told (as is noted in Ms. Washington’s complaint), “We don’t do transgenders here. You have to leave.”

Washington, and the lawyer representing her–DC Trans Coalition member Jeffrey Light–negotiated with New Hope Ministries through this last week that New Hope would agree to a Temporary Restraining Order allowing Washington (and all transgender women) into the shelter. Furthermore, New Hope Ministries has arranged to give its staff transgender sensitivity training (as put on by Transgender Health Empowerment’s Earline Budd, and the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs), and improve the privacy of its bathroom and shower facilities so that no one will be outed on the basis of their genitalia.

DC Trans Coalition member Andy Bowen, who filed an Office of Human Rights complaint about John L Young in February 2013, will withdraw her complaint, which had just entered the mediation and investigation stage.

“This is a great day for all transgender people,” said Washington. “Nobody should have to face discrimination and humiliation, and thanks to this case, homeless transgender people will be now be safer.”

“DC has great nondiscrimination laws, but good laws do not equal adequate enforcement,” said Bowen. “This case showed the need for more vigilant enforcement, and if DC Trans Coalition has anything to do with it, enforcement’s gonna happen.”

For more information, contact Andy Bowen at andymbowen [at] gmail [dot] com.

John L Young TRO Signed

For the first time, LGBT equality groups and labor unions folks are working together to advance access to basic health care for transgender people, and to expand health care insurance to cover trans-related health care nationwide. The March 30th Rally for Trans Equality and Economic Justice will bring together local trans communities, activists, union members and leaders to celebrate our victories and to continue to build momentum and power to fight for trans equality, trans economic justice and equal access to quality jobs, health care and housing for DC trans residents. Speakers will include local activists, labor leaders, artists, and poets.

Organized by: DC Trans Coalition, The National Transgender Month of Action 2013: Trans Health Care Access, SEIU, Pride at Work, DC trans organizers

RSVP on Facebook.

Manifestación por la igualdad de salud y justicia económica trans

Por primera vez, los grupos de igualdad LGBT y la gente de las uniones están trabajando juntos para avanzar el acceso al cuidado sanitario básico de las personas trans, y para expandir los seguros de salud para que cubran cuidados específicos a las personas trans en todo el país. La manifestación por la igualdad de salud y justicia económica trans del 30 de marzo unirá a las comunidades trans, activistas y miembros y líderes de uniones locales para celebrar nuestras victorias y para continuar a darle impulso y poder a la lucha por la igualdad trans, la justicia económica trans y el acceso equitativo a los trabajos de calidad, al cuidado sanitario y a las viviendas para los residentes trans de DC. Los oradores incluirán a activistas, líderes laborales, artistas, y poetas locales.

Organizada por: DC Trans Coalition, The National Transgender Month of Action 2013: Trans Health Care Access, SEIU, Pride at Work, organizadores trans de DC.

No person shall refuse to insure, refuse to continue to insurer [sic], or limit the amount of coverage available to an individual because of marital status, race, color, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity of expression, matriculation, political affiliation, or an individual’s status as a victim of an intrafamily offense, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking.

This is a remarkable victory for the transgender community. Earlier in 2013, several community groups in DC–including the DC Trans Coalition–sent a letter to the DC Health Benefits Exchange asking that plans offered via the forthcoming health insurance exchanges not include transgender exclusions, which are clauses in health insurance policies limiting equal coverage to transgender people. This effort was a major factor in spurring this DISB bulletin.The bulletin states that discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression has no place in DC. In doing so, the bulletin clarifies existing law so that insurers understand their responsibility to offer coverage that does not discriminate against transgender consumers.

It is important to note that this bulletin does not require insurers to offer new benefits. Rather, it ensures that insurers provide full benefits coverage without discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. In other words, our community has a lot of work to do to increase coverage, especially with people using DC’s public plans: Medicaid and DC Alliance.

Nevertheless, the DISB bulletin is a direct result of concerted community action, and all of the organizations that signed onto the aforementioned letter should feel very proud of their accomplishment: Casa Ruby, DC Area Transmasculine Society, DC Center for the LGBT Community, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, National Association of Social Workers Metro DC Chapter, Venus Plus X, Whitman-Walker Health, Center for American Progress, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

And a special thanks goes out to the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs, which–hearing the community’s concerns–took quick and decisive action in advocating for this bulletin.

March 11, 2013

Contacts:

Rebekah Horowitz, The Women’s Collective, (202) 483-7003
Cyndee Clay, HIPS, (202) 232-8150 x307
Paola Barahona, DC Appleseed, (202) 289-8007, x19
Darby Hickey, DC Trans Coalition, (202) 250-4869
William McColl, AIDS United, (202) 408-4848
Megan McLemore, Human Rights Watch, (646) 784-4827

Advocacy Coalition Supports MPD Clarification of Condom Policy

Washington, DC — The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is taking steps to educate the community and police officers about the possession of condoms – they are not to be considered reasonable cause to stop, search, or arrest someone. In addition to clarifying Department policy via police “roll call” bulletin, MPD has begun to distribute cards in the community explaining that individuals have the right to carry as many condoms as they want in the District of Columbia. The card text reads:

Know Your Rights

» The MPD supports the distribution of condoms to help prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

» Individuals are allowed to carry as many condoms as they want. There is no “three condom rule.”

» MPD officers cannot conduct a stop or conduct a search of a person or premises based on whether or not that person possesses condoms.

The card also provides information on how to make complaints of police misconduct, in the case that an officer fails to follow these guidelines. A scan of the card is attached.

“This important development will help promote condom use in the District, where we have one of the highest rates of HIV in the country,” said Rebekah Horowitz, Policy and Advocacy Manager at The Women’s Collective.

Last July, Human Rights Watch released research that documented instances of police confiscating condoms or threatening to use the safe sex materials as evidence of criminal activity, primarily prostitution. By distributing these cards, MPD clarifies that the police support public health interventions and will not interfere with condom possession and distribution.

“We often hear from community members that they believe possession of more than three condoms can be grounds for arrest,” said Cyndee Clay, Executive Director of HIPS.  “The MPD’s statements put the myth of the ‘three condom rule’ to rest and make clear the process for reporting police officers who violate the condom possession policy.”

The new development came in response to calls for clarification on MPD policy from a coalition of HIV/AIDS, advocacy, and service organizations. The coalition, which thanked the MPD for providing the clarification, includes The Women’s Collective, HIPS, DC Appleseed, DC Trans Coalition, AIDS United, and Human Rights Watch.

The emails obtained include this note to Chief Lanier from David Friedman, who heads the ADL’s Mid-Atlantic Office, from November 2011, when MPD claims it was beginning discussions with the ADL about establishing an “independent” hate crimes review:

On Nov 3, 2011, at 9:00 PM, “Friedman, David” wrote:

Wouldn’t worry. The only people who don’t like you have outstanding warrants.

D

From: Lanier, Cathy (MPD)
To: Friedman, David
Subject: Re: Staying in your post
Date: Thursday, November 03, 2011 9:03:58 PM

That David, is one of the many reasons I love you…. So quick

Cathy L. Lanier
Chief of Police
Washington, D.C.

Other emails obtained show that Chief Lanier was asked to approve potential members of the ADL-led review team, which consists of four other national civil rights organizations and two academics. In our testimony today, we note:

In short, the ADL hate crimes review task force has proven itself to be both insufficient to address community concerns, and blatantly biased against us. We do not relish conflict between our communities and MPD. Yet, due to a persistent failure to listen openly to our concerns, conflict persists, and the day to day lives of trans people in DC are endangered as a result. Our concern is that the ADL-led task force is a publicity stunt rather than a good-faith effort at making progress.

We once again encourage MPD to accept our offer of confidential mediation through the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service.

Other topics included in today’s testimony include:

• Progress towards eliminating the use of condoms as evidence in sex work cases,
• A request on the status of the grant MPD received from Harvard University in 2006 to expand the work of the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit,
• Ongoing issues in implementing MPD’s general order on interactions with trans people,
• MPD’s inability to relay information about trans detainees to the U.S. Marshal’s Service, and
• A request on the status of the suspended “prostitution-free” zones.

Our full testimony is available here.

Sentencing of MPD Officer Furr Devalues Trans Lives

If roles were reversed, outcome would have been drastically different

Washington, DC – Community members expressed outrage at the sentencing of Metropolitan Police Department Officer Kenneth Furr, who was released from prison today after convictions of assault with a deadly weapon and soliciting prostitution. In August of 2011, a group that included black trans women and gay men confronted Furr after he harassed one of them for refusing his sexual advances. Furr consequently shot at the individuals involved, wounding several of them. Because the judge suspended 46 months of the 60 month sentence, Furr left jail having already served the remaining 14 months.

“This result is the product of a legal system that constantly devalues trans people’s lives,” said DC Trans Coalition member Jason Terry. “Officer Furr’s defense team actively sought to portray the victims as somehow deserving of this violence, and apparently they succeeded. If roles had been reversed and a trans woman had gotten drunk and flashed a gun at a police officer, the results would be drastically different.” It is important to note that Furr was convicted only of flashing a weapon at two gay men involved in the incident, not for shooting at the trans women and others involved.

Several studies document deep levels of mistrust toward police in trans communities. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that 46% of trans people are reluctant to call police when they need police services. The Move Along study here in DC noted that 78% of respondents feared the police. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs has found that transgender people of color are nearly two and a half times more likely to face violence from police officers than other lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and trans white people. DCTC’s own needs assessment found in its first phase that safety and risk is a paramount concern. DCTC expects that the results of our survey phase will reinforce these other findings.

“Officer Furr exemplifies why this fear exists,” said Terry. “DC’s trans communities face blatant discrimination, harassment, and violence from police officers every day, yet when an officer drunkenly shoots at trans people, accountability seems to disappear.”

####

The DC Trans Coalition (DCTC) is a volunteer, grassroots, community-based organization dedicated to fighting for human rights, dignity, and liberation for transsexual, transgender and gender-diverse people in the District of Columbia. To learn more, please visit our website at http://www.dctranscoalition.org. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Join us at Casa Ruby at 5pm this Saturday, September 22, for a Needs Assessment outreach spectacular! We’ll give you some training and equip you with materials, and then send you out to few awesome locations to drop them off. It’s that simple! We promise that you’ll meet some totally awesome people.

Details are on the flyer. If you have any questions, call us at 202.681.3282 or write us at dctc@dctranscoalition.org. See you Saturday! 

We teamed up with our friends at GLOV and submitted statements about how hate crimes affect trans and LGB people living in DC. You can read DCTC’s statement here, along with GLOV’s statement here. Both organizations, along with the Rainbow Response Coalition, are DC members of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.