The Trans Women's Anti-Violence Project

“I feel like the question is necessary, how is trans* discourse and political activism helping ladyboys? Is it addressing the ills of the neo-colonialist system of capital and culture? Is it advocating for global resource redistribution? Is it dealing with the religious imperialism that so changed the role of bakla from spiritual assistants to sex workers or beauty parlor workers?

“Because until these conversations are regular in the white trans* community, it is hard for me to see how or why the community would be relevant to me or the things I care about.”

[Full Post]

A gay San Francisco doctor who primarily provides care to low-income transgender women and people living with HIV/AIDS was honored last weekend by Equality California.

Dr. Royce Lin, 39, accepted the first-ever State Farm Good Neighbor Award at the statewide LGBT lobbying group’s Saturday, April 14 gala at the Fairmont Hotel.

Lin told attendees he’s felt lucky to be able to reach out to those “whose voices so often go unheard.”

“Our clients are among the bravest, most tenacious, and generous people I know,” he added.

Among other positions, Lin works at the Ward 86 HIV clinic at San Francisco General Hospital and for the Tom Waddell Health Center’s Transgender Clinic.

Equality California board President Clarissa Filgioun said in a statement that Lin “provides a lifeline for marginalized gay and transgender people who often lack access to basic health care or for whom a trip to the doctor can be a traumatic experience because of a lack of culturally competent health care providers who understand and empathize with the unique health care needs of LGBT people.”

Lin told the crowd, “It is not I who deserve this award,” saying there are many people doing similar work “day in and day out.”

A doctor since 2000, Lin said in a phone interview that he chose the profession because “as a gay man coming of age during the height of the AIDS epidemic, I was always drawn to the way that our community gathered” in response.

“It was not just for the science, but really the story, the heroism of people who are affected by HIV, and it was a great fit for me,” said Lin. “HIV is something that certainly has affected my life, as well, so to be able to help others is something that’s tremendously rewarding.”

Lin attended college in Boston in the early 1990s. He said that among the memories that stand out to him are volunteering at Fenway Health, which provides HIV care and other services.

He recalled “trying to navigate being a sexually active gay man during a time when there was a lot that was unknown, a lot of fear. It really made me feel that I had a duty and obligation to my community to really give back, and medicine was a route for me to do that.”

Lin has been a physician at Ward 86 since 2004, where the vast majority of patients either has no insurance or receives public safety net coverage through Medi-Cal or other forms.

Many of the ward’s patients are from communities of color, and many are monolingual Spanish or Chinese speakers, said Lin, who speaks both Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. Most of the clients are gay men, he said.

Lin has worked for the Waddell center since 2011 and sees patients in the Transgender Clinic. There, problems facing many people include HIV, poverty, and discrimination. He said a number of the clients are engaged in commercial sex work.

As a Waddell center employee, Lin also has provided medical care out of Tenderloin Health’s offices three days a week. He said many of those clients “suffer from a great deal of trauma and have a very difficult time navigating a conventional medical system.” Many of the patients there are homeless or marginally housed and struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues. The city has been working to ensure Tenderloin Health’s former clients continue to receive care in the aftermath of the agency’s closure.

Lin said there’s “absolutely” still a lot of stigma around HIV.

“I think stigma is really the big killer,” he said. “I think when I see people do poorly, oftentimes it’s stigma and the silence and the shame that really leads to a poor outcome.” He said that he and other care providers see many people “because of stigma not access care until very, very late in the course” of the disease.

“Cruel and Unusual” was a part of the Spring 2012 Social Justice Film Series that sought to highlight the struggles transgender women face.

The UVM Center for Cultural Pluralism aired the film March 28 to bring awareness to the UVM community. Dirk Rodricks, program coordinator of the organization, hosted the event.

“There is a growing awareness about the transgender community,” Rodricks said. “It’s graphic films like this that drive the point home.” 

“Cruel and Unusual” told the story of five transgender women who were incarcerated in a men’s prison, where they were subjected to rape and violence but denied medical and psychological treatment. 

“The warden said to me, ‘We don’t recognize transsexual as a serious medical need,’” said Linda, a transgender woman in the documentary. “He said, ‘We’re not gonna treat you here. More than likely, you’ll wind up killing yourself.’”

After being denied estrogen therapy, Linda became depressed and attempted to hang herself in her cell.

The women were routinely subjected to sexual abuse and violence from the guards and inmates. Ophelia, another woman in the film, said she was stabbed twice for refusing to have sex with other inmates.

“[A guard] got behind me and started feeling my breasts, squeezing my nipples and patting my butt,” said Anna, one of the women from the film. “There’s nothing you can do but stand there and take it.” 

Outside the prison, transgender women often have difficulty finding employment because, according to the film, most states do not have laws prohibiting gender identity discrimination.

Linda said she would dress as a man to find jobs that she had experience doing, but when employers saw that her name on her driver’s license was Linda, they would immediately turn her down. 

“It’s ridiculous that these transgender people aren’t protected from employment discrimination,” senior Erik Rowan said. “It’s like the government is pretending they don’t exist.”

Currently only 16 states have laws protecting transgender people from employment discrimination, according to transgenderlaw.org. 

Without being able to find work, many transgender people resort to prostitution and crime for survival.

“I was prostituting from age 10 to 19,” said Yolanda, another women in the film. “I needed food, I needed shelter, I needed clothes and I had to do this.”

This type of lifestyle captures some transgender people in a cycle of crime and imprisonment because they believe they have no other way to survive. 

“This film raises really important awareness,” senior Asher Sullivan said. “There’s a relatively invisible system of oppression that regularly affects the lives of the trans-identified.”

Rodricks, the host of the event, said that people were surprised by the graphic nature of the film, but that it caused them to start thinking about what is being done to help transgender people in this situation.

jackrad:

this article is pretty good and pretty much sums up a lot of the things i feel about coko williams’ murder.

it makes me really mad/sad that another trans woman got murdered in detroit but it also makes me really sad/mad the way they are covering this.

all they can talk about is how bad the neighbourhood where she was found was.  like, it’s detroit, get over it, why don’t you talk about how fucked up it is that this happened and how sad her loss is instead of going on and on about how “gritty” (is that word supposed to make it sound exciting like a movie? cause it’s not a movie) the neighbourhood was (like, are they suggesting that it’s her fault for being in that neighbourhood?  cause that’s what it sounds like to me which isgrossvictim-blaming).

then they keep showing this image of this huge pile of trash on a sidewalk that’s like, 15 or so used condoms and 5 empty liquor bottles and some other trash to show how “gritty” the neighbourhood is but if you really read into it, this is, like, a week’s worth of trash that some guy has collected from off the street.  my neighbourhood is really nice and so not really “gritty” at all and i could probably find 15 condoms and 5 empty liquor bottles in a single afternoon of searching for trash and if i dumped them all on the same square of sidewalk, it would look pretty “gritty”

this is how everyone always talks about detroit and it’s disgusting.  there are totally some sketchy neighbourhoods in detroit for sure, but it’s a real place with real neighbourhoods where real people live.  it’s not some exciting/sad/”gritty” setting of a movie.  it’s not some “forgotten” city with people who don’t matter.  people here matter.

and they just dismissively assume she was a sex worker without actually knowing whether she was a sex worker at all like she wasn’t really a person so her actual story that merits looking into or knowing about or caring about because she was a trans woman in a “gritty” neighbourhood in detroit.

fuck this.

also, if anyone reading this was friends with her, i’m really sorry for your loss and i am mourning with you <3

March 30, 2012, New Orleans – Yesterday, one day after attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights argued that individuals convicted prior to August 2011 under Louisiana’s “Crime Against Nature by Solicitation” (CANS) law should not have to register as sex offenders, a federal judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana agreed and granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs. The statute was amended in August 2011 to no longer require those convicted of CANS to register, but the change was not made retroactive.

“Today’s decision is a powerful vindication of our clients’ right to equal protection before the law.  The court has agreed that they have been singled out for this harsh treatment without a legitimate or rational purpose, and that this cannot stand,” said Alexis Agathocleous, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Previously, people accused of soliciting sex for a fee in Louisiana could be criminally charged in two ways: either under the prostitution statute or under the solicitation provision of the Crime Against Nature statute. A CANS conviction carried harsher penalties than a prostitution conviction, including the sex-offender registration requirement. Police and prosecutors had unfettered discretion in choosing which to charge. Judge Feldman’s ruling holds that the discrepancy violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. 

“Today’s ruling is a testament to the power and importance of speaking out for justice.  Individuals marginalized by the CANS law told their stories, spearheading a campaign to change the law,” said Deon Haywood, executive director of Women With A Vision, a community-based organization in New Orleans that has led advocacy efforts around this issue. “The people heard, the legislature heard, and now the courts have heard.  Now we can move on to healing and renewal.”

Many of the plaintiffs in the case had been unable to secure work or housing as a result of their registration as sex offenders. Several had been barred from homeless shelters, one had been physically threatened by a neighbor, and another had been refused residential substance abuse treatment because providers will not accept registered sex offenders at their facilities. 

“This is an important victory in light of the Department of Justice’s recent finding that this charge was being discriminatorily applied against poor Black women and transgender women and gay men,” said Andrea J. Ritchie, a police misconduct attorney who is co-counsel on the case. “It takes away a discriminatory tool used by police and prosecutors.”

Dear NOW-NYC,

Please don’t refer to victims of violence as “sacks of bones,” as your President Sonia Ossorio decided to do in this Letter to the Editor on March 19th, 2012.

Shannan Gilbert, Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and those who remain unidentified, all discovered on Gilgo Beach, were the loved ones of families and friends. Their lives extended well beyond what they did for work. Their involvement in the sex trade does not entitle you to refer to them as “sacks of bones.” The brutality of their murders is horrific enough, their deaths something our community mourned deeply over the past two International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (December 17, 2010 and 2011). The gravity of this loss does not need to be furthered by dehumanizing them in death.

NOW-NYC’s President is not incorrect in stating that legalizing prostitution would not end the violence, danger and health risks associated with the sex trade. However, decriminalization - or the removal of all criminal laws relating to the operation of the sex industry – has been shown to increase the safety and well being of sex workers, while simultaneously decreasing violence and stigma. Decriminalizing work in the sex trade would allow for victims of violent crimes in the sex trade to seek police assistance, free of reprisal, and minimize the institutional barriers sex trade workers face when seeking healthcare or other social services.

Still, neither legalization nor decriminalization of sex work willstop organizations and individuals from further marginalizing workers in the sex trade, by using hateful language to describe them because of their work, even in death. That is something that we have to work on together: creating discussions acknowledging that every person in the sex trade has human rights that should be respected.

For this reason, it is tremendously insulting to the sex worker community that NOW-NYC would refer to victims of violence in this fashion. This type of stigmatizing language would never otherwise be acceptable to an organization that prides itself on demonstrating respect and promoting equality. We would like to remind NOW-NYC that in 1973, they passed a resolution calling for the decriminalization of sex work. We urge NOW-NYC to reconsider both their language and politics around sex worker issues.

That is why we ask you to stop referring to the victims in the Gilgo Beach murders as “sacks of bones” and consider thoughtful conversations with sex workers regarding sex worker rights. We also encourage you to work with sex worker organizations, such as the Sex Workers Outreach Project, Sex Workers Action New York and the Sex Workers Project, when considering how better to speak about individuals in the sex trade with care and consideration. We believe that open dialogue between advocates and sex workers is the best way to combat violence against people in the sex trade and we welcome that discussion.

Sincerely,

SEX WORKERS OUTREACH PROJECT OF NEW YORK CITY (SWOP-NYC)
SEX WORKERS ACTION NEW YORK (SWANK)

Prostitution brings in easy cash — anywhere from $150 to $300 an hour, according to the transgender women.

There are many ways to reach a potential client but “Craigslist still tops them all,” said dancer Bonita Isla.

As law enforcement continues to monitor personals sites like Craigslist, the women know that subtlety and cryptic codes usually work to establish contact with sex-seeking clients.

“Something like ‘T4M party and play’ or ‘Asian TS seeking,’ would get you away from serious trouble,” revealed Isla. In terms of fees, they use words like “150 roses” to mean $150 for an hour’s work. The haggling could take a couple of hours or a matter of minutes especially for willing parties. Many of the patrons are straight, married men across all ethnicities.

“I would post, then a potential customer sends an email. And if you’re both in agreement, you then give your cell number and home address, that simple,” Isla said.

For Halle Perez, a busboy, the lifestyle comes with a price.

“It’s very expensive to be a tranny. And on top of that it’s exhausting to pretend like one,” she said grousing about the industry’s requirement for them to “look hot” by investing in regular salon visits, celebrity-style clothing, plus the upkeep to surgery.

The unlawful nature of most sex work often results in “extreme isolation,” according to a study by the Sex Workers Project advocacy organization.

“Sex workers live under the daily threat of arrest, deportation, and violence. These dangers are compounded by the stigma, isolation, and invisibility associated with their work,” says the study entitled Behind Closed Doors: An Analysis of Indoor Sex Work in New York City.

RN Maxie Kapulong recalled how she was beaten up by a client, and how for several days she stayed home and avoided her friends to nurse her swollen face.

“I didn’t have the right equipment yet,” she said, referring to her incomplete gender reassignment surgery at the time of the romantic encounter. Why didn’t she come clean with her date? Kapulong just shrugged her shoulders.

You’ll never know who might be standing in your doorway — a cop or a psycho killer — said caregiver Gina Gonzales, recalling her harrowing experience with an NYPD officer. An undercover cop showed up as a client announcing he was about to bust her for her “Illegal services.”

“I thought it was the end of me,” she said. “I was shivering, sweating like a pig.” Instead, the cop let her go and told her to get a massage therapy certificate.

There are generally two types of sex workers – street-based and indoors – according to Sienna Baskin, co-director of the Sex Workers Project. While the experience may be different, both face the same “risks of violence from customers and law enforcers and stigma because of the way society looks down upon them.”

In the Filipino American community, there is no organization that advocates for transgender women. The FilAm magazine called several non-profit organizations and was told their services are “open to everyone.” But there is nothing geared specifically for transgender or gender non-conforming people, like, for example, the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in Chelsea which offers assistance in terms of housing, insurance benefits, hormone therapy, STD screening and other services.

“There are very few services that provide resources or support for transgender people in general and there are no known services for transgender Filipinos in New York,” said Kevin Nadal, associate professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “Filipino and FilAm community services need to do a better job of providing resources and support for transgender people because many of them feel isolated and discriminated from their own community.”

Bu even if there is one, the transgender women said they would rather seek help from non-Filipino organizations because of the fear and “hiya” (shame) of being exposed as a prostitute within their community.

For Dina Joaquin, prostitution is a means to an end. This former nightclub waitress has been in a loving relationship with an American banker over the last 10 years. Having found the right man, she quit and never looked back.

“Every one of us goes through obstacles, it’s up to us to rise above and move on,” she said.

At the recent Miss Asia NYC; pageant for transgender women, contestant Priscilla To Wong Fu was asked: Why is prostitution prevalent among Asian transgender women?

Flustered, but not totally unprepared, she replied, “We are known to be amiable and hardworking people, thank you!”

It was a cheeky reply which the audience wildly applauded. It was brave of Priscilla to have the humor to confront it. But long after she has left the stage, folded her sash and gown and went back to work as a chef’s assistant, the question lingers. It’s a question she is being forced to confront once again for this report.

“Many reasons,” she began, before reciting to The FilAm her litany of heartaches as a transgender immigrant.

Among many Filipino transgender women in New York – out of an estimated transgender population of 12,500 in the city — prostitution is a way of life. Employment and survival are the usual reasons for being a sex worker, but advocates are finding out there are others.

Transgender sex workers who are undocumented often bear the twin burdens of discrimination and oppression, say advocates. In some cases, even those who are gainfully employed engage in the sex trade, prompting sneer comments directed toward a lifestyle some would consider revolting and immoral.

Not all transgender women are sex workers, cautioned Sienna Baskin, co-director of the Sex Workers Project(SWP) advocacy organization. Neither is she saying that all transgender women doing sex work feel oppressed or discriminated. “But some of those who chose to do it, do so possibly because there are no other options.”

“It is the easiest way to make a living without getting exposed to the harsh reality of the world of straight people or heterosexual environment,” explained former school teacher Maria Kristina Falgui, who lost her job when her gender became a sore issue in a New Jersey school.

Malou Hidalgo, a hair-and-makeup artist, opened up about her legal status. “I have no papers, but I am able to send money to my parents and siblings in the Philippines. What I earn from the salon is nothing compared to what I do on the side.”

Like many undocumented Filipinos, the transgender women would rather stay in the U.S. than go back to the Philippines where homosexuals – especially the openly gay ones — are often viewed as freaks, if not errant Catholics.

“Filipinos in the Philippines have not yet fully embraced the gay lifestyle, how much more transgenders?” asked Maxie Kapulong, a nurse. “Besides, why earn pesos, when I can earn it in dollars?”

The bitter, hard-edged outlook comes from many years of working the bars or finding men online. Kapulong may be earning a respectable sum as a nurse, but there are siblings to send to school, and a family’s middle-class lifestyle to support. When there is a nurse working in the U.S., the family’s living standard in the Philippines is expected to be better than most – it’s like having a family member who is a highly-paid doctor, lawyer or engineer in America.

“We’ve been marginalized in many undeveloped countries so the only chance is to seek greener pastures in countries in Europe or America,” said poet Leticia Garcia. “And why would you go back to the Philippines when T girls in the Philippines have limited resources to better themselves and discrimination is still prevalent? At least here, you are protected by anti-discrimination laws even if you are not supposed to be here legally.”

Many transgender immigrants often find New York a “safe place,” according to Baskin, who was interviewed for this report. SWP advocates for women as well as transgender sex workers.

“One thing I notice is that people come here looking for a safe place. Not only transgender people but people looking for a community where they can freely express themselves, where they are not isolated,” she said. “They can come from places like Iowa or the Philippines, and they are looking for places where they can meet other people and they have that level of safety (with them).”

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced two new grant competitions focusing on connecting HIV-positive transgender women of color with health care services, including primary care and HIV-related care.

The first grant opportunity, which is designed to improve the overall quality of HIV care for transgender women of color, will award each of up to eight grantees $300,000 annually for five years. The demonstration sites will develop, implement, and evaluate innovative programs designed to connect these women with timely and appropriate care. These programs will also help them stay in touch with providers who can provide a range of primary and HIV-related services.

The second opportunity will fund an Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center that will coordinate capacity-building activities, provide technical assistance in clinical and cultural competence around care for HIV-positive transgender women of color, and oversee the dissemination of findings from the demonstration sites.

The new grants are part of a growing number of initiatives by the Department of Health and Human Services that specifically focus on the transgender population. In September 2011, HRSA awarded a grant to Fenway Health, an LGBT community health center in Boston, to establish a National Training and Technical Assistance Center that will help other community health centers serve the LGBT population. Also in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $55 million over five years to 34 community-based organizations to expand HIV prevention services for transgender youth of color, as well as young gay and bisexual men of color.

More such initiatives are sorely needed. Transgender people frequently encounter discrimination in aspects of everyday life such as employment, education, and housing, and research indicates that they are less likely than the general population to have access to health insurance and culturally competent health care. Though no national surveys currently ask about gender identity or transgender status, the limited research on transgender health that exists demonstrates that transgender people, particularly people of color and those who are poor, young, sex workers, or homeless, experience substantial health disparities. Estimated HIV prevalence rates among the transgender population range from 14 to 69 percent, with reported rates among African American transgender women in excess of 56 percent.

In addition to improving data collection on the demographics and health needs of the transgender population, more research is needed into every aspect of transgender health. Research priorities include the overall health of transgender people across the lifespan, further demonstrations of the safety and medical necessity of transition-related care, and investigations into the role that discrimination plays in driving disparities such as high rates of HIV and AIDS.

Eligible entities for the new HRSA grants include non-profits, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, community health centers, state and local governments, and Indian tribes. Both programs are funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program as Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS). Applications are due by April 16, 2012.