The Trans Women's Anti-Violence Project

A study titled Lost in Transition: Transgender People, Rights and HIV Vulnerability in the Asia-Pacific Region was released in Bangkok to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

According to this research, which was jointly released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN), transgender persons are among the most socially ostracized in this region and lack fundamental rights, including basic access to health care and social protection schemes.

So there is need for concerted action by governments, civil society, development partners and the transgender community itself to design and conduct further research to fill the lack of information about transgender people and their environments.

The report seeks to examine literature on laws, regulations, policies and practices that prompt, reinforce, reflect or express stigma and prejudice towards transgender people. It seeks to identify vulnerabilities to HIV and barriers to access or uptake of HIV related healthcare services, and attempts to establish a research agenda aimed at providing the sort of data that will enable a reduction in future risk, as well as better access to treatment, care and support for transgender people living with HIV.

According to Dr. Sam Winter from the University of Hong Kong, the author of this report and a noted expert on the challenges of transgender people, “For too long, trans people have been lost in transition. Pushed to the social, economic and legal margins in a majority of countries in this region, trans people often suffer from poor emotional health and well-being. Many find themselves involved in risky behaviors and situations, such as unsafe sex and involvement in sex work. Social exclusion, poverty and HIV infection contribute to what we call a ‘stigma-sickness slope’, a downward spiral that is difficult to reverse. We hope that this report will demonstrate the burning need to address a very human crisis, viewed through the prism of HIV, which has taken a devastating toll on millions of our fellow citizens in our region and beyond”.

Although national reported data remains limited, there is growing anecdotal evidence that HIV prevalence rates among transgender people in the region have reached critical levels. These reported numbers commonly exceed the prevalence rates among men who have sex with men, and young transgender women are thought to be at particular risk. Data from one Southeast Asian city suggests that over the four year period from 2003-2007, HIV prevalence among transgender people rose from 25% to 34%.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large number of transgender people— individuals whose gender identity, and/or expression of their gender, differs from social norms related to their gender of birth. Trans women here are birth-assigned males identifying and/or presenting as female, or (in those cultures, where it is accepted that there are more than two genders) as members of another broadly feminized gender. Trans men are birth-assigned females identifying and/or presenting as male or as another broadly masculinised gender. There are possibly 9-9.5 million trans people across this region, but the existing small scale research is largely limited to trans women, an alarming number of who are estimated to be HIV positive, with prevalence rates as high as 49%. There appears to be no data at all on HIV rates among trans men, and the number of trans people of either gender who have died of AIDS is also unknown.

Another challenge is that throughout much of the history of the global HIV response, transgender people have remained invisible and have seldom been properly recognized as a distinct population for purposes of confronting the HIV pandemic. They often find that sexual healthcare services are not suited to their needs and are focused instead on females and on MSMs. Even when it comes to national HIV programming and funding they are usually treated similarly as MSMs. “We are most definitely not MSM,” stressed Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, a noted Thai transgender researcher and activist.

“Many of us are physically very different, either as a result of hormone replacement therapy or other medical procedures. Some of us have had a complete sex change. There is much we still don’t know about our particular vulnerability to HIV, and that needs to change.”

The regional HIV epidemic among transgender people is strongly linked to stigma and prejudice which results in prompting patterns of discrimination, harassment and abuse (verbal, sexual and physical) in the family, at school, in the workplace, in the provision of services (including health) and in society as a whole. Transgender people become marginalized, both socially and economically, with the Asia-Pacific legal environments further failing to offer them sufficient protection against discrimination and serious forms of sexual assault by withholding legal recognition of self-affirmed gender, criminalizing their sexual behaviors, and subjecting them to gender-inappropriate detention practices, as well as contributing to police abuses.

These experiences can damage their psychological and emotional wellbeing, conspiring with other factors, (such as poverty) to tilt them into situations that put them at risk of HIV as well as risk of other threats to their physical and mental well-being. Unsafe sexual practices appear to be common among them and most of them are quite badly informed about the associated HIV risks. Even the few who are well-informed nevertheless engage in unsafe sexual practices.

Ban Ki Moon, United Nations General Secretary is worried that, “We see a pattern of violence and discrimination directed at people just because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. There is widespread bias at jobs, schools and hospitals, and appalling violent attacks, including sexual assault. People have been imprisoned, tortured, even killed. This is a monumental tragedy for those affected – and a stain on our collective conscience. It is also a violation of international law.”

Transgender people approaching any type of health services commonly report that services are often difficult to access. Healthcare providers are uncooperative and respond to them in a gender inappropriate way, adopt a mocking or ridiculing attitude, and withhold/ refuse healthcare. So, some take care of their own healthcare needs as best they can (e.g. getting hormones wherever and whenever they can, and taking them with little or no medical supervision). Those who seek gender affirming surgeries find them to be the extremely expensive procedures. Confidentiality is not always assured, especially in regard to mandatory HIV testing for sex workers, which compounds the problems in accessing appropriate care.

Despite the dismal scenario, the report points out at some encouraging developments too. Among these is a developing transgender identity, a growing pride and an increasing willingness on the part of transgender communities to advocate for increased participation in policy processes and organize peer support services at a national and regional level. The Asia Pacific Transgender Network has been recently established to advocate for the right to access health services, to demand that laws which criminalize transgender people be repealed and to reiterate that vulnerability to HIV is couched within the larger context of human rights.

“The creation of advocacy networks, community-based organizations and non-government organizations devoted to empowering and strengthening our communities is a source of joy. You cannot separate our social well-being and human rights from our efforts to address HIV within our communities. We are pleased that the UNDP report recognizes this.” said Prempreeda.

The report emphasizes that inclusive research, designed and implemented in partnership with the transgender community, is critical to enable governments, community based organizations and supporting organizations to enhance HIV and sexual healthcare services specific to the needs of transgender people, and foster action by governments to adopt more socially equitable policies and practices to protect their rights.

- Asian Tribune

KAYE CANDOZA-POELS. She was abused by her father for being a transgender. Photo by Dawn Fabrero

MANILA, Philippines – Kaye Candoza-Poels already knew she was female at the age of 6.

Now 27, she looked every bit a woman as she walked down the UP main road in 5-inch heels. A member of the Society of Transsexual Women Philippines, Kaye led the march on Thursday, May 17, to the Commission on Human Rights central office in celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (Idaho).

…

sqs-tec:

TW: Prison violence, rape, trauma.

A culmination of 9 years of work, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project marks the release of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Standards to Prevent, Detect and Respond to Prison Rape as a significant victory. The Department of Justice’s new standards come in response from recommendations from the Sylvia Rivera Law Project -including those of incarcerated trans and gender non conforming members- and allied organizations.

fuckyeahgenderstudies:

NB: Some of the terminology in the article is fucked. 

Given that the US allows changes on a passport without surgery, this doesn’t seem like an improvement. Also, forcing people “in transition” to go without a sex marker could “out” them to hostile customs and immigration officials.

A decade ago, voters in Buffalo approved a local law that provided full civil rights protections to transgender residents.

But New York State, despite its proud, progressive history, has fallen behind its second-largest city — and 16 states — in protecting the essential civil rights of hundreds of thousands of transgender and gender non-conforming residents.

For these New Yorkers, the simplest and most fundamental parts of their identity — their clothing, their appearance, their name—expose them to hostility, exclusion and sometimes even violence.

People who are transgender or whose appearance does not conform to gender stereotypes often suffer persistent discrimination and harassment. They face challenges earning a living, finding housing and enjoying life’s necessities and simple pleasures.

But there is no state law that explicitly prohibits discrimination against transgender or gender non-conforming people. The Gender Expression Non- Discrimination Act, or GENDA, will remedy this injustice. Passed on April 30 by the Assembly, GENDA has the broad support of legislators, law enforcement and advocacy groups that seek to guarantee civil-rights protections and safety — for everyone.

Like all New Yorkers, transgender and gender non-conforming people deserve freedom from harassment, mistreatment and exclusion. Everyone deserves equal access to housing, employment, education and public facilities, like restaurants, stores and doctor’s offices.

New Yorker Kym Dorsey lived the first half of her life as Kenny before transitioning to life as a woman. “We are all human,” Dorsey observed.

“We bleed the same. We are taxpayers — we have sisters, mothers, brothers, uncles. Who decides who’s better, who’s more deserving of humanity?”

We can’t afford to look the other way when the rights of any New Yorkers are violated. Ending institutionally approved discrimination is a matter of essential civil and human rights.

It is a nonpartisan issue that merits the support of every elected leader in the state — and members of the New York State Senate in particular.

Enacting GENDA is not a radical departure from long-held values. Many of New York’s towns, cities and counties have, like Buffalo, enacted laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender expression and gender identity.

But all New Yorkers deserve the same protection. The right to live free from discrimination should not depend on a person’s ZIP code.

Advocates praise the new Justice Department standards, though questions remain about separate rules for immigration detention, to be finalized by the Department of Homeland Security.

…

“There has been a lot of discrimination and violence against LGBT inmates in correctional facilities,” a senior Justice Department official said Thursday, “and DOJ has devoted a lot of attention in this rule to LGBTI issues because of these unique vulnerabilities.”

Among the final rules pertaining to gay, transgender, and intersex inmates, per DOJ:

-Agencies must train security staff in conducting professional and respectful cross-gender pat-down searches and searches of transgender and intersex inmates.

-Transgender and intersex inmates must be given the opportunity to shower separately from other inmates.

-In deciding whether to assign a transgender or intersex inmate to a facility for male or female inmates, and in making other housing and programming assignments, an agency may not simply assign the inmate to a facility based on genital status.

-LGBT and intersex inmates cannot be placed in dedicated facilities solely on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Timed with the final rules, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released sobering figures Thursday on the incidence of prison rape among gay and bisexual inmates. According to a survey of former state prisoners conducted in 2008, 39% of gay male inmates reported that they had been assaulted by a fellow inmate, compared to 3.5% of heterosexual male inmates.

About one third of bisexual male inmates also reported that they had been sexually assaulted, while lesbian inmates reported incidents of sexual violence perpetrated by staff at twice the rate of female heterosexual inmates. The survey did not include transgender individuals, who by all accounts are among the most vulnerable to sexual assault in prison.

“This is absolutely lifesaving work,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said of the Justice Department’s rules. “Transgender people are 13 times more likely to be assaulted in prison. … This is about how we protect vulnerable people, how we protect against HIV transmission, and how we end the misery and horror of sexual assault in prison.”

[Full Article]

Driven inside by the heavy rain, hundreds of gays, lesbians and transgender people rallied for a transgender civil rights bill at the Convention Center of the Empire State Plaza Tuesday to buttonhole legislators in and around the Capitol.

“We wanted to be outside, but it was really effective to gather all that energy in one room. The mood was dynamic,” said Christopher Argyros, transgender rights organizer of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the sponsor of the LGBT Equality & Justice Day.

The advocates have been holding the lobby day for more than a decade, but this year’s event was bolstered by a string of recent victories for transgender people, including a federal legal precedent prohibiting workplace discrimination.

“We have great momentum,” said Sheilah Sable, director of upstate organizing for the Empire State Pride Agenda. “The message that came through loud and clear today was that we’re going to get this done, but the trans community cannot do it alone.”

Sable said transgender people were encouraged by the speeches of support delivered by representatives of union groups, the League of Women Voters and college students, including a busload from the State University at Plattsburgh. They were among about 650 attendees.

The focal point of the lobbying day was to urge passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, known as GENDA, which passed the Assembly last week. It was sent to the Senate, where GENDA has died in committee five times previously.

“We need GENDA to be passed. We face a lot of harassment and discrimination,” said Rafaela Anshel, 60, of Queens, a transgender woman who recently retired after 38 years as a cataloguer at the New York Public Library. She said she was fearful of telling co-workers and did not go to work dressed as a woman.

“It’s a good place to work with open-minded people, but I couldn’t be out at work. It’s just not accepted and there are always the bathroom issues,” Anshel said. She attended the rally with two friends from the Queens Pride House in Jackson Heights.

“I couldn’t begin my transition until I left work or I would have lost my job,” said Michelle Abdus-Shakur, an unemployed 43-year-old transgender woman from Manhattan. She remained closeted with her female gender expression for 11 years while she worked as an accountant for an Internet company owned by Japanese investors.

Now unemployed after being downsized, the financial hit she took was eclipsed by a newfound self-confidence. “I’m much happier now,” she said. “I’m still looking for work, but now it’s on my terms. When I get hired, it will be as a trans woman.”

A 2009 national survey that included 531 transgender people in New York found that 74 percent reported harassment or mistreatment on the job and 20 percent lost a job or were denied a promotion.

GENDA, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, passed in the New York Assembly on Monday and is now headed to the Senate, where it has failed the previous five times the Assembly passed it. A report issued yesterday by the NYCLU highlights just how essential this piece of legislation is:

“A 2009 national survey that included 531 transgender people in New York found that 74 percent reported harassment or mistreatment on the job and 20 percent lost a job or were denied a promotion. In addition, 53 percent were verbally harassed or denied service at hotels and restaurants and 49 percent reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance. Also, 18 percent had become homeless because of their transgender status and 27 percent were either denied an apartment or were evicted. And 17 percent were refused medical care due to their gender expression, the survey said.”

This is literally life or death for people, and Governor Cuomo hasn’t voiced his support for the bill yet. A version of GENDA has been passed in several cities (including NYC) but that won’t cut it—this is about the very most basic civil rights for trans and non-gender-conforming people. It is awesome that gay people can get married, and I appreciate the Governor’s outspoken support for that bill, but if he’s truly an advocate for LGBTQI rights, this right here is the bill to push through.

Without the guarantee of housing and jobs, trans people—trans women especially, and trans women of color especially especially—are at even higher risk for violence and abuse. The statistics are chilling. Trans women are more likely to be targets of violence, less likely to receive proper medical care, more like to be abused by cops, more likely to be raped. In the last month, Paige Clay and Brandy Martell were murdered, and CeCe McDonald is facing jail time for defending herself against a group of attackers screaming epithets and smashing glass in her face. The violence against trans and non-gender-conforming people is so endemic that the community has an annual Day of Remembrance to commemorate people killed because of their gender presentation JUST THAT YEAR.

GENDA is no joke, yet where are the celebrities leaning on legislators to pass it? Where is the news coverage? Where is Governor Cuomo? What’s Occupy Wall Street doing? This is the very most basic civil right stuff: the right to equal employment consideration, the right to housing, the right to medical care, the right to protection from police and (optimistically) by police. NYCLU’s Melissa Goodman:

“‘New York is really falling behind on transgender rights,’ Goodman said. ‘We were a leader in the marriage fairness fight. It’s really time for New York to be the same kind of leader in the transgender equality fight.’”

C’mon everybody. Let’s pass this thing.

Over six thousand transgender Texans will be barred from the polls if legislation requiring photo identification in order to vote goes into effect. That’s according to a recently released study by the Williams Institute, an independent legal institute at the UCLA School of Law. The study is based on information from National Transgender Discrimination Survey conducted jointly by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality and released earlier this year.

Last year the Texas legislature passed SB 14, a bill that requires anyone voting to present one of five forms of photo identification:

• Driver’s license or state ID,
• Military ID,
• Citizenship certificate that includes photograph,
• Passport, or
• Concealed handgun license.

If the person does not have one of those forms of identification, or if the election judge determines that the identification provided does not match the record of the person on the voter registration roles the voter may fill out a provisional ballot and then must submit proof of identification with-in six days of the election in order for their ballot to be counted. According to the Williams Institute report 27% of transgender Texans do not have updated ID. Under this new law these voters may be unable to vote. The new law has not yet gone into effect. So any registered voter who wishes to vote in the upcoming primary election need only show their voter registration card in order to vote (early voting starts today!). Implementation of the law has been delayed while the Justice Department considers whether it would violate provisions of the Voting Rights Act by making it unduly difficult for minority communities to vote. Unfortunately the Voting Rights Act does not require the Justice Department to determine if the law would disenfranchise transgender voters. If upheld the new photo ID law will have the ultimate effect of silencing one of the most vulnerable segments of the LGBT community, and at this stage in the process there is little that can be done to defeat the law other than wait and hope that the Justice Department refuses to approve it, or that a lawsuit brought to defend the voting rights of people of color is successful. In the meantime we can prepare and educate our community about what will need to be done if this law goes into effect:

• Double check that you are registered to vote (this goes for everyone, trans and cisgender people alike). You can look up your voter registration on-line on your County Clerk’s website (just search for “(your county) TX clerk);
• If you have a history of gender transition make certain that you have at least one of the five forms of ID listed above that matches the name and address on your voter registration;
• Work to educate your local election officials about the issue (again, this goes for everyone). Both the Republican and Democratic parties (and to a lesser extent the Libertarian, Green and Reform parties) try to have a chair in every voting precinct. Generally the contact information for these chairs can be found on your county party’s website. Contact the chair for your precinct and let them know to be on the lookout for the issue. While you’re at it contact your County Clerk and ask that, if the law is upheld, election judges receive training on how to be sensitive towards transgender voters.

Today, April 30, 7:30pm at 5525 Illinois Ave. NW Washington, DC

The last year has been difficult for the transgender community in Washington, DC, but the DC Trans Coalition (DCTC) has responded by stepping up its engagement with the Metropolitan Police Department, preparing to do the first needs assessment of DC’s trans community in over a decade, and much more. DCTC’s financial need is greater than ever, so they have teamed up with the Radical Space to discuss these issues as well as a range of others and raise funds so that they can continue to help the trans community in the District.

DC Trans Coalition Website: http://www.dctranscoalition.org/