At this weekend’s GLAAD Media Awards ceremony in L.A., Laverne Cox spoke out about the fact that trans and gender nonconforming low-income people and people of color are commonly profiled by the police for expressing our gender identity or participating in criminalized economies in order to survive. She spoke about our comrade Monica Jones, a trans woman of color and activist in Arizona, whose recent conviction of “manifesting prostitution” underscores this critical issue.
Monica Jones may be placed in a men’s prison, which we know will put her at a higher risk of violence. You can learn more about this issue and the dangerous conditions faced by trans women in prisons by reading SRLP’s report, “It’s a War In Here: A Report on the Treatment of Transgender and Intersex People in New York State Men’s Prisons” at http://srlp.org/files/warinhere.pdf
You can also read the important work of members of SRLP’s Prisoner Advisory Committee (PAC), made up of trans and gender nonconforming community members who are currently incarcerated, by visiting the PAC Blog here: http://srlp.org/pac
Take action with SWOP Phoenix to free Monica Jones, stop the profiling of trans women of color, and end the criminalization of sex work in Arizona by signing this petition: http://www.swopphoenix.org/monica/
For folks in New York, check out our comrades in the Miss Major-Jay Toole Building and the Red Umbrella Project to learn more and find out ways to get involved.
Thank you, Laverne, for your crucial work in using public platforms to raise the voices of our communities. And thank you for the shout-out to the Reina Gossett and SRLP!
Love that she uses her status for good!
Thank you Sylvia Rivera Law Project! Desiree Alliance Stands With Monica Jones!
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