Transsexual Road Map Notes

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Violence against trans people in Colombia

T-informa investigates violence against trans people in Colombia.

T-informa N° 005: Demandemos investigación por asesinatos a personas trans en Colombia

Haga click si no puede acceder al boletín
http://www.runa.org.pe/ilgaboletin/boletintinforma005.html

Posted by Andrea James on 05/08 at 08:38 AM
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Sunday, May 04, 2008

Changing legal gender assignment in Canada

A reader notes:

Hi Andrea;

A few more cracks in the myriad of seeming walls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changing_legal_gender_assignment_in_Canada

See also:

Name change instructions by Canadian province

If you were born in Quebec and live in another Canadian province, you may find it easier to change your name in Quebec. See the Quebec page for more.

* Alberta
* British Columbia
* Manitoba
* Ontario
* Quebec

http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/name-change.html

Posted by Andrea James on 05/04 at 11:16 PM
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Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People

NCTE notes:

Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People

New publication provides invaluable ‘how-to’ advice to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations seeking to become fully transgender-inclusive

Opening the Door cover(Washington, DC)-The National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today released a joint publication titled Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People: The Nine Keys to Making Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organizations Fully Transgender-Inclusive, geared toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations.

“Transgender inclusion has been an important issue in the LGBT community, particularly in the past year. Yet, many organizations struggle with how exactly to become fully transgender-inclusive. We are excited to offer this free new resource,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). 

Opening the Door, which is based on years of personal and professional experience within LGBT organizations, makes the case for full inclusion at every level of an organization. It examines the need for genuine, consistent advocacy for inclusion of gender identity and expression in policies, programs, legislative stances and public positions, and explores critical issues such as understanding the transgender experience and the role of an ally, how to address staffing issues, dealing with prejudice and ways to further outreach. The voices of LGBT leaders discussing real-life experiences with transgender inclusion are found throughout the guide.

“Our movement needs this publication right now. We are proud of the growth of the Task Force has made over the years in regards to inclusion, although our work is still not done. We hope that this guide will illuminate the process of becoming fully trans-inclusive,” said Rea Carey, acting executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

“The Equality Federation was thrilled to contribute to this guide, and I believe it should be required reading for all board members, staff members and any type of leader in an LGBT organization. I am asking everyone I know to read it because I believe it will better prepare our movement’s organizations to do what we set out to do,” said Equality Federation Executive Director Toni Broaddus.

The guide is co-authored by Justin Tanis, program manager of the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Lisa Mottet, an attorney with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Transgender Civil Rights Project. Mottet works on transgender-related legislation and policy and is the co-author of Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People. Tanis, Ph.D., has a 20-plus-year career in LGBT nonprofits and is the author of Transgendered Theology, Ministry and Communities of Faith.

Download Opening the Door at http://www.theTaskForce.org and http://www.nctequality.org.

Posted by Andrea James on 05/04 at 10:55 AM
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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Trans women in Middle East face more crackdowns and abuses

A woman in Kuwait has sent this plea out for all to read:

“To all the people with hearts , to all the people with feelings , to all the people who think we should all be treated alike to all the people who oppose torture and to every single person in the world who thinks every one should live life the safest way possible.
On behalf of the kuwaiti transexuals i ask you today to help us and to tell the world what is happening to us by the police and by the new law that strictly declares transexuals as outlaws and criminals.
a few months ago a law was posed in kuwait declaring that transexuals or any man acting, dressing or looking like a female will be sent to jail for some time and will get their head shaved so they can go back to be normal men.
medical research has proved that we cant become men and it has proven that we are men from the outside but women from the inside and that we cant go on with our lives looking like males but we feel safer and more comfortable as females.
let me tell you a little about kuwait if you have good connections you can deal with drugs commit murder or even rape and u can get of the hook very easily but if u dont you will be sentenced to jail or even executed.
today and as i type this letter a lot of transexuals have been thrown in jail and have been shaved and beaten up to a point where they started telling on each other. their crime is feeling safer and more secure as women and not men so they became a threat to the community and to the state of kuwait. Each transexual is forced into confessing on the where abouts of her friends and are refused to call a lawyer and are thrown in jail straight away for a time only the police know of .
the kuwaiti constitution is just like the french and it strictly states that EVERY CITIZEN HAS THE RIGHT TO LIVE THEIR LIFE THE WAY THEY CHOSE OR FEEL SAFEST IN we had this before the conservatives declared war on transexuals outlawing us and making up stories that we are all involved in drugs and prostitution i must say that there are some who do drugs and others that prostitute but not the majorty it is a minority. we only ask the world to see whats happening to us to see that getting beat up and tortured will not cure the problem they should try and understand us help us live our lives as the women we are.
many people oppose this law but cant say a word because the islamists in kuwait have forbidden every thing that goes against their beleifs and are trying to take the country back in time to the time of knights and horses a time when the sword ruled but not the constitution .
we ask the world to help us help us live help us survive if no one helps us they will eventually arrest us all and only god knows where we are going to end up. from this letter i hope my voice can be heard world wide and hope that all the good hearted people in the world that think we should live our lives help and support us so we can survive god only knows if i might type another letter to you all and if i might escape arrest tomorrow.
god be with you all
from : a heart broken and frightened kuwaity transexual”

Last month, a video emerged of a trans woman who was caught in Iraq, held in prison for days, then forced to have her head shaved. The police joke and laugh as she is humiliated. As you may know, Iraq is a neighbor of Kuwait and is where we are spending billions of dollars to secure their freedom after overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

Posted by Andrea James on 03/20 at 08:42 AM
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Lobby Day: April 14-15, 2008

NCTE notes:

Lobby Day: April 14-15, 2008
sponsored by
the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender Law Center

Lobby Day is shaping up and we are so excited that transgender people, our families, friends and allies will be joining us in a few weeks in Washington DC to take on the vital work of educating Congress about the needs and concerns of our communities. People have registered from 23 states and the District of Columbia and we hope you’ll be among them.  Wouldn’t it be great if constituents from every state could speak with their members of Congress about transgender rights on the same day? We need your help to do that.

Here’s what people are saying about why they are coming to Lobby Day:

“I participated in a breast cancer lobby day on the hill once… I’m definitely excited about putting my efforts into transgender equality.”

“I’m pumped up to go to Lobby Day!!!”

“It is very important to help Congress realize that our community has been marginalized and forgotten by parts of the movement.”

We need you to think seriously about being a part of this vital day. There’s still time to buy plane or train tickets or to plan your road trip for transgender equality. Won’t you do it today?

To help you make appointments with your members of Congress, we’ve issued a new resource that is available for free download from our web site. Making an appointment is as simple as faxing a request and then following up with a phone call. But the sooner you make your appointment, the better. Do it today!  You have 3 options for making an appointment:  1) You can make them yourself using our guide to help - requesting them for April 15 so you can participate in the policy briefings and the training on April 14; 2) You can contact us for assistance in making your appointment at ncte@nctequality.org; or 3) You can work with a volunteer from your state to help set up the appointments for you - contact us and we’ll put you in touch with someone.

You can register online for Lobby Day-there’s no charge, but we do need to know how many people are coming so we can prepare for you, so please sign up today!  You’ll get a whole day of policy briefing and training for your congressional visits. Click to see the Lobby Day schedule and more information about Lobby Day 2008.

There’s still time to buy your tickets for Moving Forward Together, our reception at the National Press Club. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy an evening overlooking the evening lights of Washington and joining with other transgender people and our allies. Last year’s event sold out so buy your tickets early!

See you soon!

The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization.  For more information, please visit http://www.nctequality.org.

We need your support to continue this work. Click here to join our mailing list or to donate now. Thank you!

Posted by Andrea James on 03/20 at 08:28 AM
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