A campaign for systemic change supporting trans persons in Dallas and beyond
Amid a severe increase in aggressive violence against trans persons in Dallas during the first half of 2019, most responses called for police action to address individual perpetrators of violence. TPI believes we will never address individual acts of violence if we do not address the systems of violence that trans persons are subjected to every day in accessing services, interacting with governmental entities, and in employment.
Although individual perpetrators of violence must be held accountable for their actions, the current retributive for-profit justice and prison systems do next to nothing to actually heal the harms caused by violence, nor do they address systemic causes of violence. In fact, the current system is more likely to increase violence, not reduce it.
Please see the next section about our petition and tool for reporting violence, and participate in the way that is comfortable for you! If you have questions or concerns, please feel encouraged to contact us!
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash
We have created a petition that you can easily sign to show your support for our efforts to brign attention to systemic violence in Dallas and elsewhere. The petion covers broad areas in which this project will advocate.
TPI has also created an easy-to-use reporting tool for anyone to document instances of violence that they have experienced or witnessed, including discrimination and harassment. If we have enough responses, we will add vizualizations here to show various aspects of the violence being reported.
TPI has already contacted the District Attorney about the changes we are demanding (see letter here), and they have concurred that there are systemic problems at their offices and also with the Dallas Sheriff’s Department, DART, and local police departments. We will be seeking a variety of means to use our reports and other work and experience to push all the entities identified herein to be accountable to their violence.
Social services — from housing to jobs programs to clothing closets — will often exclude trans persons by either forcing participation by birth gender or outright exclusion. Such practices constitute violence in themselves, and promote non-acceptance and violence by others.
The police system promotes violence against marginalized persons in our trans and queer families, and it cannot be rectified until we reduce the power of the police and substitute support for social services that address the sources of social harm.
The justice system — from district attorneys to courts to confinement facilities — exhibits bias in the representation (often misrepresentation) of trans persons with discriminatory treatment, harsher sentences, and violence in the prison systems.
Public services such as Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) target and harass trans and other marginalized persons in who they chose to cite for fare evasion and fine for other violations. And in the case of DART, the agency has refused to abide by federally mandated nondiscrimination policy.
If you would like to contact Trans Pride Initiative either about our programs or about getting involved, please contact us to see how you can become involved!
TPI’s main web site is located at tpride.org.
TPI has a sexual health and awareness web site at tpower.tpride.org.
TPI has also teamed with two attorneys to challenge the constitutionality of Texas Family Code 45.103, which we believe is unconstitutional due to its disproportionate impact trans persons needing name changes. For more information, see 103.tpride.org.