The Prisoner Justice Project (PJP) at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) has a long history of providing legal and supportive services to our transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex communities in state prison, and we have recently been able to focus even more of our efforts on our communities held in New York City jails. […]
New York City’s Trans Youth to be Impacted by Two Major Changes in Agency Policies
In June and July, New York State and City announced two important changes to laws and regulations governing the rights of transgender youth. The first, a guideline from the New York State Education Department, affects the treatment of transgender youth in school. The second, a guideline from the City of New York Administration for Children’s […]
Support Black Trans Women Fight for Survival
Authored by Chase Strangio and Rage M. Kidvai It has been a heartbreaking year as we have learned of the deaths of too many trans women in our community. In this week alone, we learned of three more murders – all of Black trans women. As we grieve these horrible losses, we are at the […]
Reporting from #Law4BlackLives
On Friday, July 31, 2015 SRLP core collective members, attorneys and interns (past and present) attended #Law4BlackLives, a national gathering of lawyers, legal advocates, and law students dedicated to building a world where #BlackLivesMatter. The conference involved various panels and workshops ranging from police reform, defending the civil rights of #BlackLivesMatter protestors, and legal […]
“In the Interest of Justice”: The Importance of Courtroom Support
Armani Teighlor, a beloved and well-known trans-rights community activist in NYC, was recently badly injured in a brutal attack. Shortly thereafter, Armani was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury against her attackers. However, due to post-plea open warrants for classic “walking-while-trans” charges, this subpoena put Armani in danger of being taken into custody. […]
SRLP co-leads training on how to support people experiencing violence in New York State prisons
On Thursday night, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Prisoner Justice Project was proud to join allies at the Correctional Association of New York, National Lawyers Guild’s Prison Law Project, and the Law Office of Rankin & Taylor in training members of the Parole Preparation Project on legal and non-legal support for people experiencing sexual […]
Press Release: Class Action Lawsuit Against New York Dept. of Health on Behalf of Transgender New Yorkers Proceeds
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on August 3, 2015 in Legal, News, Press Release, Survival and Self Determination Project
Judge Jed S. Rakoff issues decision denying the State’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit calling for an end to continued exclusions for some transgender-related health care treatments by New York Medicaid. NEW YORK, NY, July 31, 2015 – On Wednesday, July 29, 2015, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York issued an […]
The Board of Correction Voted to Move Forward with Controversial Rule-making Despite Serious Opposition
Recently, the Board of Corrections (BOC) voted on whether or not they would begin the rule-making process for several proposed new rules. The meeting focused on the potentially increased restrictions on packages sent to incarcerated individuals and restrictions on full contact visits at New York City jails. The rule-making process would also incorporate higher maximum sentences for […]
SRLP signs letter to the Board of Corrections to address suicidality in NYC jails
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on July 14, 2015 in Legal, News, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
As we mourn the death of Kalief Browder and the many other New Yorkers who die through State-induced violence, SRLP joins activists from across the city in calling on the Board of Corrections to make wholly new and meaningful changes to how suicidality is cared for in the City jails. We request that outside experts […]
The fight for trans-inclusive healthcare continues!
On Friday June 26, the Christopher Street Pier was alive with trans* and gender non-conforming advocates, community members, survivors, and organizers rallying with the Audre Lorde Project’s TransJustice demanding an end to state violence in detention centers, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals at the hands of police and other state actors. We were demanding that the […]