As with all of Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s (SRLP) legal work, the Prisoner Justice Project (PJP) seeks to address the immediate needs of our incarcerated community members and connect them with opportunities to engage more fully in our work. Most people initiate contact with PJP in a state of crisis, often reporting physical and sexual […]
Archive | Legal
Tell New York to Remove Barriers to Gender-Affirming Healthcare
By Sasha Alexander, SRLP Director of Membership on November 4, 2017 in Action Alert, Get Involved, Membership, Policy Advocacy, Survival and Self Determination Project
In spite of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s victory in ensuring healthcare access for low-income trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGNCI) New Yorkers, and Governor Cuomo’s directive that private insurers allow gender-affirming care, many members of our community continue face barriers to care. From wrongful denials of coverage to red tape to outdated, transphobic policies […]
What is the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Prisoner Advisory Committee?
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on November 2, 2017 in Membership, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Prisoner Advisory Committee (PAC) is a committee of incarcerated trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGNCI) individuals who seek to share their voices with those on the outside about the injustices they have faced both in and out of prison. PAC began from a proposal by former SRLP staff member Gabriel […]
NYC Board of Corrections Issues New Resolution to Protect Incarcerated TGNCI Individuals from Sexual Assault
In 2003, Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which sought to address and reduce sexual assaults in prison, as well as to develop resources to educate institutions on this issue and to protect those most vulnerable. Unfortunately, many prisons across the country have failed to uphold the standards set by this law for […]
Meet Some of Our Wonderful Prisoner Advisory Committee Members!
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on November 1, 2017 in It’s War in Here, News, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
In honor of our relaunch of “It’s War in Here,” a report on the experiences of trans and gender non-conforming people incarcerated in New York State, we reached out to several Prisoner Advisory Committee (PAC) members who have offered their guidance and voices to the project. We wanted all of our readers to get to […]
NYC Board of Correction Issues Resolution to Increase Safety for Incarcerated Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex People
This week, SRLP is celebrating the effect that our voices and truths can have on the law. In a surprising and important move, the Board of Correction – the oversight and monitoring body for New York City’s jails – issued a harsh resolution and timeline in response to the New York City Department of Correction’s […]
10 Years Later: SRLP Updates “It’s War in Here”
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on September 1, 2017 in It’s War in Here, Policy Advocacy, Prisoner Rights Project, Publications and Resources, SRLP News, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
In 2007, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project published a report which changed the landscape for LGBT organizing and abolitionist work in the US. It’s War in Here, a report on the conditions that transgender women face in men’s prisons, forced LGBT activist organizations to take the issues of policing and prisons seriously and forced abolitionists […]
New Resource to Learn About Your HRA Benefit Case!
By Kyle Rapiñan, Director of Survival and Self-Determination on August 30, 2017 in Survival and Self Determination Project
The Human Resources Administration (HRA) has launched, ACCESS HRA, a new website that lets you learn more about benefits in New York City and apply for different assistance programs. Now you can check your case status online. To make things easier, there is also a new app you can download to learn more about your […]
Tell New York You Support Access to Healthcare!
By Kyle Rapiñan, Director of Survival and Self-Determination on August 1, 2017 in Action Alert, Legal, News, Survival and Self Determination Project
Last December, a federal judge in Texas blocked protections under the Affordable Care Act from going into effect. The rule would have extended anti-discrimination protections, prohibiting private insurance plans and healthcare entities from discrimination against transgender people and their healthcare needs and abortion-related services. In response to the tireless activists and organizers demanding the protections […]
SRLP’s Statement on Federal Hate Crime Laws
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) stands against the use of the federal hate crimes law to extend the sentencing of Joshua Vallum for his horrific murder of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson on the basis of her gender. On May 15, 2017, federal hate crimes laws specific to gender identity were used for the first time […]