It is the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) and there have been some changes to the law that affect us.
According to the Department of Justice’s website…
With the new law we will be eligible for “victim services and legal assistance include services and assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are also victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons.”
The DOJ OVW website goes on to say that we are eligible for the Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) program which “authorize legal assistance to victims seeking relief in legal matters “relating to or arising out of” …their victimization” in other words transgender victims of violence can now get our legal fee paid for. The Act also requires sexual assault crisis centers to help us (Here in Connecticut the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Service (CONNSACS) has a strong trans-policy). Domestic violence shelters maybe a grey area since they are sex-segregated facilities, but here in Connecticut they would have to under Connecticut law.
So this is a big step forward for us. The one weak spot is the use of bathrooms, my guess is it was added as appeasement for the Republicans in order to pass the law, but here in Connecticut our law should cover the use of bathrooms.
According to the Department of Justice’s website…
Adds civil rights provision applicable to all OVW (Office on Violence Against Women) grantees that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability in OVW - funded programs or activities; includes specific exception for sex segregation or sex – specific programming that is “necessary to the essential operation of a program”Notice that organizations that receive money from the program, their diversity policies can exempt us from using the bathroom. I assume that organizations like the Salvation Army that has a battered women’s program has to included us in their program but can require us to use the bathroom of our birth assigned gender.
With the new law we will be eligible for “victim services and legal assistance include services and assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are also victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons.”
The DOJ OVW website goes on to say that we are eligible for the Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) program which “authorize legal assistance to victims seeking relief in legal matters “relating to or arising out of” …their victimization” in other words transgender victims of violence can now get our legal fee paid for. The Act also requires sexual assault crisis centers to help us (Here in Connecticut the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Service (CONNSACS) has a strong trans-policy). Domestic violence shelters maybe a grey area since they are sex-segregated facilities, but here in Connecticut they would have to under Connecticut law.
So this is a big step forward for us. The one weak spot is the use of bathrooms, my guess is it was added as appeasement for the Republicans in order to pass the law, but here in Connecticut our law should cover the use of bathrooms.
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