Activists Condemn Transphobic Attacks in Queens
Advocates propose solutions to confront anti-trans hate
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
LGBTQ activists gathered
in Elmhurst, Queens on
August 11 to denounce
a wave of anti-trans violence
facing Latinx communities of
color in New York City.
LGBTQ advocates at the immigrant
advocacy group Make the
Road New York and survivors of
attacks said six trans and gendernon
conforming people were assaulted
in Brooklyn and Queens
during the last two weeks, including
in Bushwick and Jackson Heights.
Jennifer, a transgender woman
of Queens and survivor of one of the
attacks, said she was waiting for a
taxi with a group of friends in Jackson
Heights when a man threw
rocks and glass bottles at them.
“I ran away but fell down, and
the man continued to attack me,”
she told reporters at the presser.
“I tried to fi ght to save my life and
ended up with a broken arm. It is
outrageous that trans women are
the target of transphobic attacks
just because of who we are and
how we look.”
The advocates offered a series
of proposed solutions to confront
the wave of attacks, including calls
to shift funds from the NYPD to
instead focus on education, bystander
intervention training, and
de-escalation tactics. Mateo Guerrero,
an organizer for the Trans
Immigrant Project (TRIP), an LGBTQ
immigrant advocacy division
of Make the Road New York, said
the NYPD has neglected the needs
of Latinx transgender people.
“We know that the police the only
thing that they do is cause more
traumatic experiences for trans
communities of color by misgendering
them, not listening to them,
and failing to provide interpretation
services,” Guerrero said.
Bianey Garcia, a TRIP organizer
at Make the Road New York, said
police offi cers are failing to do their
part to confront the transphobic
attacks in the area.
“Often survivors are not provided
translation by the police or respected
by their gender identity,” Garcia
Advocates emphasize the need for more resources to take on anti-trans violence.
Jennifer shows cuts from a recent attack.
explained. “We need New York City
to invest in community education
programs to reduce, de-escalate,
and prevent violence against trans,
gender non-conforming, non-binary,
and queer communities in order
to create safer neighborhoods.”
Queens state lawmakers Jessica
DEAN MOSES
Ramos, Catalina Cruz, and Jessica
González-Rojas echoed calls for
the city to invest in services aimed
at reducing anti-LGBTQ incidents.
Ramos said students LGBTQinclusive
curriculum should be
part of a long-term solution to repel
transphobic violence and other
DEAN MOSES
ACTIVISM
forms of hostility toward queer
communities.
“It is not enough to build a more
tolerant society,” Ramos said. “We
need a society that respects each
and every human being regardless
of who they love, regardless of their
gender expression, and regardless
of how they identify.”
The most recent city budget included
a $2 million increase for
LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum,
which is up from $800,000 last
year for a total of $2.8 million. According
to the budget, the funding
will “support the needs of LGBTQ
youth and address the intersectionality
of race, sexual orientation,
and gender identity through
the Department of Education’s
(DOE) general curriculum.”
A trans advocate, who was not
named at the presser, said the
violence disproportionately hits
transgender sex workers — but
their concerns are often dismissed
by authorities.
“We don’t need blood to demonstrate
the violence in our streets,”
they said. “We’re human beings.
We don’t need blood to show that
we exist.”
Activists are also calling for
bilingual response teams to aid
trans victims of violence, among
other services.
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