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The Legal Aid Society is calling on lawmakers to pass the Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety (GIRDS) Act to ensure incarcerated TGNCNBI New Yorkers have access to fundamental rights and protections. The current prison and jail system renders TGNCNBI people invisible and extremely vulnerable to the worst harms of abuse and neglect.
We asked members of NYC’s LGBTQ+ community to help us uplift the voices of incarcerated TGNCNBI (transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and/or intersex) people by reading letters that transgender and gender expansive people in custody have written to us. The videos that follow show these volunteers reading the words of incarcerated people, hoping to raise awareness of the plight these individuals face behind bars and the critical need to pass the GIRDS Act now.
This bill reduces the harm TGNCNBI people experience in prison and jail by requiring state and local correctional facilities, including NYC Department of Correction, to:
The New York City Council’s Task Force on Issues Facing Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary, and Intersex People in Custody has released an in-depth report detailing the crisis TGNCNBI individuals face in New York City Jails. Read the full report here.
A former DOC Chief of Staff, Dana Wax, published a powerful op-ed in The New York Times on the crisis awaiting trans people housed in the New York City jails. Read it here.
Tell your state legislator to pass the Gender Identity Respect Dignity and Safety Act.