Jumaane Declares Crisis in Anti-Trans Violence
Public advocate, leading advocates demand focus, funding for a community under siege
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
In a virtual press briefi ng
held the day that the 33rd
murder of a transgender
person in the US this year
was confi rmed in Indianapolis,
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams, joined by more
than half a dozen trans advocates,
declared “a state of crisis” in the
escalating epidemic of anti-trans
violence nationwide.
“We are in a state of crisis —
we need to meet it with urgency,
clarity, and resolve,” Williams
said during the October 14 event.
“Trans women, particularly trans
women of more color, are being
killed with impunity, and it is past
time to meet that emergency with
real change that can end this epidemic
of violence. Today I am calling
upon the governor to acknowledge
anti-trans violence as a state
of crisis, and encourage the mayor
and all of my colleagues in government
to join me and the countless
advocates who have joined us today
in developing comprehensive
plans that put an end to anti-trans
violence once and for all.”
The public advocate announced
that the following day he would fi le
two bills in the City Council — one
would require the city to report on
the training of medical professionals
in the care of transgender and
gender non-conforming patients
and the other would mandate that
the health department distribute
signage to hospitals spelling out
transgender patients’ rights and
the services that are available to
Public Advocate addressed what he said is a “state of crisis” in anti-transgender violence in an October
14 virtual press conference.
them.
Williams also pressed the Legislature
in Albany to repeal the discriminatory
loitering law often used to target
transgender women, particularly
women of color, and called for the
city to offi cially recognize November
20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance.
the need for creating affordable
housing suitable to the needs of
transgender adults and youth and
endorsed several economic empowerment
initiatives aimed at creating
job opportunities for trans,
gender non-conforming, and nonbinary
➤ TRANS ATHLETES, from p.16
disadvantage.
“We believe biological males should not compete
in female sports,” Denny said.
After this reporter then asked how transgender
student-athletes would be able to play
sports under the system envisioned by CWA,
Denny said, “Well, we have sports competitions
that aren’t based on sex, but for sports thare
are going to be sex-specifi c… we’re talking
about a federal civil rights law put in place in
“Walking While Trans”
He also discussed
PUBLIC ADVOCATE’S OFFICE
New Yorkers.
The public advocate has been
frank in recent years about the
learning curve he has traveled
down on LGBTQ issues — he once
opposed marriage equality and,
as a city councilmember in 2014,
abstained on a measure easing
the requirements for transgender
people born in the city to change
the gender marker on their birth
certifi cate.
“This has nothing to do with
comfort. People are being murdered,”
Williams said.
“We have to break past comfortability,”
he added, alluding to the
1972 that made it clear equal opportunity and
benefi ts would be based on sex.”
In a statement emailed to Gay City News,
FPU emphasized its commitment to “an inclusive
evironment for all of its students” and made
clear it made its policy change under pressure.
“We regret that we were required to rescind
the Transgender Participation and Inclusion
Policy we adopted and put forward based on
the NCAA’s model, but have made this move
to comply with a resolution agreement with
the US Department of Education’s Offi ce for
CRIME
fact that many cisgender people
still have their own learning curve
to go down, but that while that
work progresses immediate attention
to the rampant anti-trans violence
is critical.
The public advocate’s offi ce,
Williams said, would be hosting
a series of town halls and other
engagement events in the days
leading up to Transgender Day of
Remembrance next month to air
critical issues facing the community
and educate the wider public
about trans issues.
Like other advocates on hand,
Beverly Tillery, executive director
of the New York City Anti-Violence
Project, praised Williams for stepping
up, saying, “We’ve been calling
for this kind of leadership for
years.”
Then noting that 2020, still only
mid-way through October, has already
broken the 2017 record of 31
anti-transgender homicides, Tillery
said, “We know that the numbers
don’t account for all the homicides
that have occurred.”
It is not simply a problem in red
states, she emphasized, noting
the two murders of trans women
in New York confi rmed so far this
year, along with the mysterious
death of a third woman visiting
from Chicago.
Tillery emphasized four points
in particular — the need to repeal
the Walking While Trans loitering
law, the need for greater funding
for the city’s hate violence prevention
initiative, the urgency of addressing
the need for permanent
➤ JUMAANE WILLIAMS, continued on p.21
Civil Rights,” the statement read. “While we
disagree with the position that the federal administration
has taken with respect to transinclusive
athletics participation, the Offi ce for
Civil Rights confi rmed in its resolution letter
(sent to us on October 16, 2020) that the provisions
within our policy were consistent with the
NCAA’s Policy on Transgender Student-Athlete
Participation, which was promulgated in 2011.
We will continue to work with the Northeast-10
Conference and the NCAA on this important issue.”
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