Trans Health

While violence against us is increasing and the Trump administration is doing everything it can to deny us healthcare the AMA is trying to cover our back.

U.S. physicians adopt new policy against anti-trans violence
Washington Blade
By Chris Johnson
June 10, 2019

Amid an ongoing struggle with anti-transgender violence, the American Medical Association approved a resolution Monday to take action on the issue.

The AMA House of Delegates, which is comprised of U.S. physicians and medical students, approved the new policy, Resolution 008, at its 2019 annual meeting in Chicago. The goal of the policy to bring national attention to the issue of anti-trans violence, especially its disproportionate impact on transgender women of color.

AMA board member Bobby Mukkamala said in a statement violence against transgender people is “on the rise and most victims were black transgender women.”

“The number of victims could be even higher due to underreporting and better data collection by law enforcement is needed to create strategies that will prevent anti-transgender violence,” Mukkamala said.

The resolution says,

1 Whereas, A recent event has increased attention on violent crimes reported by the Lesbian,
2 Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) or gender non-conforming communities
3 yet most media outlets have failed to accurately educate the public regarding the reality of the
discrimination and physical dangers faced by members of the LGBTQ community, especially
5 Black transgender people and other transgender people of color; and
6
7 Whereas, Transgender individuals are people whose gender identity or gender expression
differs from their sex assigned at birth; and
9
10 Whereas, Transgender people who are People of Color, disabled, female identified, or a
member of another oppressed group may struggle with discrimination on multiple levels; and
12
13 Whereas, Violence against transgender people is often underreported due to transphobia and
mistrust of law enforcement; and
[…]
21 RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association partner with other medical organizations
22 and stakeholders to immediately increase efforts to educate the general public, legislators, and
23 members of law enforcement using verified data related to the hate crimes against transgender
24 individuals highlighting the disproportionate number of Black transgender women who have
25 succumbed to violent deaths (Directive to Take Action); and be it further
26
27 RESOLVED, That our AMA advocate for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to
28 consistently collect and report data on hate crimes, including victim demographics, to the FBI;
29 for the federal government to provide incentives for such reporting; and for demographic data on
30 an individual’s birth sex and gender identity be incorporated into the National Crime
31 Victimization Survey and the National Violent Death Reporting System, in order to quickly
32 identify positive and negative trends so resources may be appropriately disseminated (Directive
33 to Take Action); and be it further
34
35 RESOLVED, That our AMA advocate for a central law enforcement database to collect data
36 about reported hate crimes that correctly identifies an individual’s birth sex and gender identity,
37 in order to quickly identify positive and negative trends so resources may be appropriately
38 disseminated (Directive to Take Action); and be it further
39
40 RESOLVED, That our AMA advocate for stronger law enforcement policies regarding
41 interactions with transgender individuals to prevent bias and mistreatment and increase
42 community trust (Directive to Take Action); and be it further
43
44 RESOLVED, That our AMA advocate for local, state, and federal efforts that will increase
45 access to mental health treatment and that will develop models designed to address the health
46 disparities that LGBTQ individuals experience (Directive to Take Action); and be it further
47
48 RESOLVED, That our AMA issue a press release following the conclusion of the annual House
49 of Delegates meeting with updates to be published in both scientific and mainstream
50 publications regarding the prevalence of physical and mental health conditions and barriers
51 faced by the LGBTQ community. (Directive to Take Action)

I doubt that the current administration really cares about the AMA or anything trans but I it very good that the AMA came out with public support and to condemn the violence.

---

Wherever we look we can see violence targeting trans people, we are not safe anywhere even in prison.

A community mourns Layleen Cubilette-Polanco, a trans woman found dead in her cell at Rikers Island
"This city has failed Layleen."
ThinkProgress
By Casey Quinlan
June 11, 2019
On Monday afternoon, more than 600 people gathered in Foley Square in New York City to mourn Layleen Cubilette-Polanco, an Afro-Latinx transgender woman, and demand justice after she died in her cell in Rikers Island. Activists and family members expressed outrage over what they say is a lack of information around the circumstances of her death.

Cubilette-Polanco, also known as Layleen Xtravaganza, was being held in solitary confinement when she died, and her cause of death has not been determined yet.

She was arrested in April on misdemeanor assault charges, Bail was set at $500. Although a judge ordered her release on the assault charges, she was still being held for low-level drug charges and prostitution charges from 2017, according to the Gothamist. She was in a unit for transgender women before being placed in solitary following a fight.

According to ABC News, her family said she suffered from an acute medical condition and that considering her fragile health, she should have been placed in supervised detention.
[…]
Two people may get into a fight, and there are lots of ways to handle that that don’t involve locking up one or both of them in a cell,” he said.

Cubilette-Polanco’s death marks yet another untimely death for the trans community and black trans women. In 2019, at least eight transgender people have been fatally shot or killed by other means, according to the Human Rights Campaign, and they were all black trans women.

“Correction” facilities seem to be in their own little world and feel that they can ignore non-discrimination laws.