Transgender Community

http://www.rhd.org/News/11-12-08/RHD_to_open_nation_s_first_residential_treatment_program_for_transgender_individuals.aspx

RHD to open nation's first residential treatment program for transgender individuals
Morris House to open in Philadelphia this year
12/8/2011 4:10:00 PM
Contact: Kevin Roberts
RHD Communications
1215 951 0300 (ext. 3714)
or kevinr@rhd.org

Morris House, the first residential treatment program in the country to offer comprehensive services specifically for trans and gender variant individuals, will open in Philadelphia by the end of this year. Resources for Human Development, a national nonprofit with headquarters in Philadelphia, will support Morris House in partnership with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services.

“After years of losing hope, the Department of Behavioral Health and RHD welcomed us with open arms, delivering on an old promise with a new promise,” said Jaci Adams, a transgender individual who served on the advisory board put together by DBH and RHD to assist with the planning for Morris House. “It felt like that dream would never come to fruition, but we are lighting the flame again and giving back hope to a community. Our dreams are really coming true this time.”

Morris House will be named for Nizah Morris, a transgender woman who was allegedly murdered in Philadelphia in 2002.

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http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2819.html

GLSEN and NCTE Announce Release of Model District Policy on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students

Media Contact:
Andy Marra
Public Relations Manager
1646 388 6575
amarra@glsen.org

Vincent Paolo Villano
Communications Manager
1202 903 0112
vvillano@transequality.org


NEW YORK, November 16, 2011 - The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) today jointly announced the launch of their groundbreaking Model District Policy for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students.

The first-ever national policy resource co-authored by GLSEN and NCTE offers solutions for school districts to incorporate into existing policies and procedures that create safer and respectful school environments for all students regardless of their gender identity or gender expression.

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http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/press.../2011-09-29-adams-victory.pdf

A settlement was announced today in the case of Vanessa Adams, a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate at FMC Butner in North Carolina who has gender identity disorder (GID). Ms Adams sued BOP in order to receive appropriate treatment for her GID.

Ms Adams' challenge to BOP’s treatment of transgender prisoners has resulted in BOP ending its so-called “freeze frame” policy in which treatment for any person with GID is kept frozen at the level provided at the time he or she entered the federal prison system. In Ms Adams’ case, this meant that because she had not received treatment for GID before being incarcerated, BOP refused to provide her with medically necessary care even though its own doctors diagnosed her with GID, told her about treatments available for GID, and knew about the seriousness of her medical condition.

“BOP’s freeze frame policy trapped transgender prisoners in despair, leading often to depression, suicide attempts, and in many cases, serious self-harm, as was the case with Vanessa,” said Jennifer L. Levi, Transgender Rights Project Director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).

The change in policy was promulgated via two memoranda, dated May 31, 2011 and June 15, 2010, from BOP’s Medical
Director to all BOP’s chief executive officers. The May 2011 memorandum ends:

In summary, inmates in the custody of the Bureau with a possible diagnosis of GID will receive a current individualized assessment and evaluation. Treatment options will not be precluded solely due to level of services received, or lack of services, prior to incarceration.

The memo also states that “current, accepted standards of care will be used as a reference for developing the treatment plan.”

The memos have been distributed to all individuals in the prison system who have been diagnosed with GID, as well as to the medical staff treating these prisoners.

When the suit was filed on February 24, 2009, Ms Adams was at a federal prison in Florida . There she was being denied medically necessary hormone therapy and prevented from otherwise expressing a female gender identity because she had not received this treatment prior to her incarceration. In a June 7, 2010 ruling, Federal District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro rejected BOP’s argument that Ms Adams’ claim was moot because BOP had finally started Ms Adams on
hormone therapy.

Citing BOP’s consistently callous conduct toward Ms Adams, the fact that BOP could stop her treatment at any time, and that BOP did not disavow its policy, Judge Tauro sent the case to mediation. With today’s settlement, the parties jointly agreed to end the case.

Cassandra Capobianco of Florida Institutional Legal Services said, “It is critical not only for Vanessa’s health and safety but for the good of other prisoners that BOP’s policy has been changed.”

“We applaud the BOP for getting rid of an unfair policy that has denied medically necessary care to many people. We hope
that other state and county prison systems will follow BOP’s lead and eliminate discriminatory policies that are based on bias rather than medical need,” said Jody Marksamer, a staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

In addition to GLAD, Ms Adams was represented by Florida Institutional Legal Services (FILS), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Bingham McCutchen LLP, and Allyson Kurker.


Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England’s leading legal organisation dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. http://glad.org/

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organisation in the US committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and Transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. http://nclrights.org/

Florida Institutional Legal Services is a non-profit organisation that advocates for institutionalised people and other vulnerable people and groups.

http://masstpc.org/?p=1358

New Study Finds Employment Discrimination against Transgender Residents of Massachusetts Costs the State Millions Annually
May 11th, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Gunner Scott: 1617 778 0519
Kara Suffredini: 1617 878 2300

BOSTON — A new research study released today by The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy shows that employment discrimination against transgender residents of Massachusetts likely costs the state millions of dollars each year. These costs are the result of reduced income tax revenue, expenditures on public assistance programs, and other costs related to an increased need for public assistance programs. The added cost to the Commonwealth for public health insurance coverage alone is $3 million annually due to employment discrimination against transgender workers.

“When transgender people experience employment discrimination, not only can that have a substantial negative impact on people’s lives, but it also affects the Commonwealth financially so all Massachusetts residents pay a price,” said study author Jody L. Herman, the Peter J. Cooper Public Policy Fellow at the Williams Institute. “The legislature is making painful choices as it builds next year’s budget,” said Kara Suffredini, executive director of MassEquality. “This law would not cost the state a dime, but it could bring in millions of revenue and savings each year.”

“Employment discrimination erodes your dignity—and empties your pocketbook. When otherwise qualified people cannot find work solely because of who they are, the state loses money in lost tax revenues and increased expenditures on public programs such as MassHealth,” said Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender
Political Coalition.

In calculating the cost to the Commonwealth, the study estimates that 6,600 Massachusetts residents have lost a job, 12,900 were not hired for a job, and 5,600 were denied a promotion, all due to due to anti-transgender bias. Furthermore, 15 percent of surveyed transgender Massachusetts residents made $10,000 or less in annual household income, whereas only 3 percent of the Massachusetts general population made this amount.

Employment discrimination can lead to lost wages and the need to access public assistance programs to replace lost income and health insurance coverage. This study estimates that the Commonwealth may be losing millions in income tax revenues each year due to employment discrimination. In addition, the Commonwealth is spending nearly $3 million every year in public health insurance coverage for those who have lost jobs due to anti-transgender bias.

View or download the report

See press coverage


About the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition

The Transgender Equal Rights Coalition is working to pass “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” (House Bill 502 and Senate Docket Number 536). This law would add gender identity and expression to existing Massachusetts civil rights laws, which currently prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, and marital status in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, education, and credit. The bill would also add offenses regarding gender identity or expression to the list of offenses that are subject to treatment as hate crimes. The bill defines gender identity and expression as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.” This is consistent with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination’s past decisions, as well as Boston’s 2002 transgender anti-discrimination ordinance. Members of the coalition include MassNOW; ACLU of Massachusetts; Jane Doe, Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; National Association of Social Workers, MA; Mass AFL-CIO; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition; MassEquality; the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus and the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association.

http://www.masstpc.org/?p=1300

Boston City Council Unanimously Passes a Resolution in Support of An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights

[Boston, MA 03-09-11]—The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is pleased to report that on Wednesday March 9, 2011, the Boston City Council unanimously passed a Resolution in Support of An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.

The resolution was originally offered by Boston City Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo and quickly supported by Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley and Councilor At-Large John Connolly, as both asked to join Arroyo in offering the resolution. As the councilors discussed the resolution, in a strong show of support, the remaining nine city councilors (President At-Large Stephen Murphy, Councilor Maureen Feeney, Councilor Charles Yancey, Councilor Salvatore LaMattina, Councilor Bill Linehan, Councilor Robert Consalvo, Councilor Matt O’Malley, Councilor Michael Ross, and Councilor Mark Ciommo) asked to be included in offering the resolution, and then unanimously passed it.

The resolution, in part, states, “The City of Boston currently protects transgender youth and adults on the basis of gender identity and gender expression in the city’s non-discrimination ordinance and has done so through ordinance since 2002; and Massachusetts transgender youth, adults, and their families continue to face pervasive discrimination and violence because of widespread prejudice.” The resolution concludes with, “The Boston City Council goes on record in support of “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights” HB 502/SB 764 and urges the Boston delegation of the Massachusetts Legislature and the leadership of the legislature to support a timely passage of this bill.”
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http://registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/24479329-35/intersex-female-male-athletes-athlete.csp

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Who decides who is normal?
It may be impossible to be fair to athletes born with an intersex condition
By Elizabeth Reis
For The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Sunday 28 February 2010

The Winter Olympic games end today, but the International Olympic Committee has plenty of work left to do as it considers how to handle athletes who have an intersex condition — a discrepancy between genitals, internal sex anatomy (ovaries or testes), hormones or chromosomes. The IOC is obligated to achieve fairness with a policy that clearly and unambiguously sets out the criteria for gender verification. Yet any rules the committee imposes are likely to be unsatisfactory, perhaps even arbitrary. Here’s why:

Variation in the human body is natural and not as uncommon as we might believe: Approximately one in 2,000 people are born intersexed. Nonetheless we sort people into two distinct categories: male or female. When a baby is born with atypical genitalia, or when an adult woman discovers that her XY chromosomes don’t match her female genitals, then fitting into one of the male or female boxes becomes more difficult — particularly in sports, where the entire endeavor is divided along gender lines.
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http://rutlandherald.com/article/20100115/THISJUSTIN/1150333

Area artist dies in Haiti quake
By Gregory Trotter, Valley News - Published: January 15, 2010

NEWBURY — A Newbury artist was killed in the earthquake that devastated Haiti on Tuesday.

Flo McGarrell, 36, died when the Peace of Mind Hotel in Jacmel — a beach town about 20 miles south of Port-Au-Prince — crumbled during the earthquake, according to his parents.

A visual artist, McGarrell was serving as director of FOSAJ, a non-profit art centre in Jacmel. He spent the summer in Newbury with his parents, James and Ann McGarrell, and also returned for the Christmas holidays, leaving for Haiti only about 10 days ago.

"It's unbearable," said Ann McGarrell, her voice raw with emotion, in a phone interview Thursday.

A friend of their son called the McGarrells on Thursday morning on a satellite phone.

"The first thing I asked, 'Is Flo still alive?" his mother said. "She said, 'No.'"

The friend said McGarrell was returning from the airport in Port-au-Prince, having dropped off his godfather for a departing flight, and had stopped briefly at the hotel when the earthquake struck.
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http://nytimes.com/2010/01/06/us/06gender.html

US Job Site Bans Bias Over Gender Identity

By Brian Knowlton
Published: January 5, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has inserted language into the federal jobs Web site explicitly banning employment discrimination based on gender identity.

The protection is expected to apply to the small Transgender population — people who identify their gender differently from the information on their birth certificates — and it merely formalises what had been increasingly unchallenged government practice over several years.

But civil liberties and gender rights groups welcomed it on Tuesday as the clearest statement yet by the Obama administration that such discrimination in the federal workplace would not be accepted.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Centre for Transgender Equality, said, “The largest employer in the country is doing what all the other large employers in the country are doing, so that’s really great news.”

But the new standard brought instant criticism from cultural conservatives.

“We at the Family Research Council oppose including gender identity as a category of protection,” said Peter S. Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies.

Mr Sprigg said his group believed that what it calls “gender identity disorder” should be “treated with therapy to help people be comfortable with their biological sex rather than affirming and celebrating and protecting those who want to deny their biological sex.”

When the administration foreshadowed the change back in June, it was thought the guidelines would be in an updated federal handbook for managers and supervisors. Their inclusion instead in the equal-employment opportunity notices on http://usajobs.gov/ , the federal jobs site, was viewed as even more significant.

“This is frankly a bigger deal,” said Christopher E. Anders, senior legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Forwarded from Loree Cook-Daniels. This is last-minute as they need responses by the end of today, but please cross-post to appropriate communities!

Loree Cook-Daniels from the FORGE Transgender Ageing Network here. A few years ago, MetLife and the LGBT Ageing Issues Network of the American Society on Ageing did a well-publicised survey of LGBT people age 45-64. Unfortunately, for a bunch of reasons, there were few to no Trans respondents. They are redoing the survey and trying to do this one right, but we need more Trans respondents -- NOW (by the end of the weekend).

Note that this survey is set up in a complicated way that redirects anyone who is not in the right age bracket and/or that doesn't indicate they're Trans by noting they were assigned a different gender at birth. (So if you get a question about elected officials being out of touch, know you've been redirected.) Despite that, the questions were written for a mixed LGBT audience, so they're not all as Trans-savvy as we would like. Please be gracious if you fall within the needed age range and answer anyway, because we'd like to: 1) have Trans respondents; and 2) show other researchers that you CAN get Trans respondents in a mixed LGBT survey, if you outreach.

Below is MetLife's description and the link. Thank you.

Loree

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Call for Submissions
LITTLE BOY LOST: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods

Editor C. Michael Woodward is seeking submissions to Little Boy Lost (working title), an upcoming anthology by transsexual men on the longer-term psychosocial impact of transitioning from female to male.


A note from the Editor
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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
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About the Editor

C. Michael Woodward is a writer, musician, speaker, consultant, political advisor, peer counsellor, and social justice advocate — in no particular order. He led the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA) for more than five years and worked in variety of roles at Wingspan, southern Arizona’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and Transgender community centre.

Woodward currently serves as Co-Chair of the City of Tucson Commission on GLBT Issues and Chair of The University of Arizona President's LGBTQ Advisory Council. He is a former Board member of Female to Male International (FTMI) and is profiled on Lynn Conway's Successful Transmen, a prestigious website recognising leaders in the international Transgender community. Michael was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Southern Comfort Conference.

Since 2003, Michael has presented training and information about LGBTQ and allied concerns to thousands of people across the country. In 2009, he formed lgbtQ&A Diversity & Inclusion Consulting, providing sexual orientation and gender identity cultural competency, best practices, and transition planning services to organisations and individuals nationwide. For booking information, contact michael@lgbtqa.com.

In addition to more than a dozen how-to books on computer software, Woodward has published magazine articles, blogs, op-eds, and other writings on a variety of non-fiction topics. His latest book, Little Boy Lost: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods, is currently in progress.