Members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project are getting ready to join thousands of New Yorkers in the push to end the use of isolated confinement in New York State prisons. On May 2, members of SRLP and the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC) will be in Albany meeting with legislators and assemblymembers on […]
Archive | Policy Advocacy
Community in Violence
It is with great sympathy and sadness in my heart that I regret to inform our community of the continuation of murders of trans women of color in 2017. In the month dedicated to the recognition of black history, this marked the sixth murder of a trans woman of color and the fifth of an […]
Building Movement Power at the #LawStrikesBack Rally
Last week on the 17th of February, I, as a member of the Movement Building Team of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, along with members of legal agencies, activists, and social service communities, gathered to resist President Donald Trump and his racist policies at the #F17 Law Strikes Back rally in Foley Square. Along with […]
15 Systematic Policies and Legal Rules That SRLP Helped Change
It’s been almost 15 years since SRLP was founded as a multi-racial, trans-led collective organization working for economic, racial, and gender justice. You might not know that over the last 15 years SRLP has worked to win the following important victories: Morrill v. Morrill, establishing a transgender parent’s right to visit her children. Doe v. […]
SRLP Pushes to Reduce Hurdles to Obtaining Gender-Affirming Documents
On December 19th, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Vital Statistics held a public meeting of the NYC Gender Marker Change Advisory Board, where SRLP testified that the Board should permit fee waivers, gender self-attestation, and non-binary designations on birth certificates issued by New York City. Joining SRLP in coalition were […]
Landmark Victory Achieved in Cruz v. Zucker
This week, transgender New Yorkers eligible for Medicaid received the life-affirming news that trans-specific health care coverage is required by law for individuals, regardless of their age. This victory extends from the case Cruz v. Zucker which the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) filed in conjunction with our co-counsels, The Legal Aid Society and Willkie […]
Join SRLP October 17 in Shining a Light on Youth Health Care
In direct response to Cruz v. Zucker, our lawsuit challenging New York State’s ban on transgender health care coverage, oral arguments will be heard this coming Monday October 17 on the medical necessity of gender-affirming health care for trans youth. SRLP asks that you join us and our co-counsel The Legal Aid Society and Willkie Farr […]
Major Medical Victory for Transgender Youth in New York State
In direct response to Cruz v. Zucker, No. 14 Civ. 4456 (JSR) (SDNY), a class action filed by The Legal Aid Society, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP on behalf of individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria, New York State recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to remove a […]
Walking While Trans – Effects of the Loitering Law on Trans-Feminine Immigrants
On September 30, 2016, the Legal Aid Society of New York and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP filed a civil rights class action lawsuit on behalf of women of color unjustly arrested for violations of New York Penal Law Section 240.37, the alleged crime of loitering for the purpose of prostitution. As a collective […]
Tell the Department of Health that trans health care must include ALL of us!
As we enter this Pride weekend it is important to remember that many people – in particular transgender women of color – still struggle to meet their basic human needs such as health care. Despite ongoing litigation in Cruz v. Zucker, the NYS DOH continues to suggest amendments to the current regulation that make it harder for […]