Non-binary people in Oregon will now be able to change the gender marker on their birth certificates to reflect their identity, an appeals court has ruled.
The verdict came when Oregon’s Court of Appeals overturned a 2019 decision that barred people from changing their legal gender to non-binary.
The appeals court sided with Eugene resident Jones Hollister, 53, who has been petitioning to have their gender legally recognised since 2017.
“I am thrilled,” Hollister said. “To have a ruling and to have a really affirming statement by the court, I’m speechless. I can barely talk because I keep crying every time I think about it. I’m just so excited.”
The appeals court said that a judge has the “authority to grant the requested change of legal sex”, without the need for a doctors note, and not restricted to just male or female.
“Rather, the new sex designation must affirm the petitioner’s gender identity whether that is male, female, or non-binary,” the appeals court ruled.
Hollister said of their need for legal gender recognition: “I’ll have a legal piece of paper that says that the gender that I know I am and have always known that I am is legally recognised.
“Every time I’m given a piece of paper that makes me choose male or female, neither of them is accurate.”
“We submitted the appeal in the fall and… I don’t even know what to say. I’m still giddy,” Hollister added.
Hollister’s lawyer, Lorena Reynolds, worked with Basic Rights Oregon and the ACLU on the case.
Kieran Chase from Basic Rights Oregon said the ruling is critical.
“We’ve existed since humanity has existed. We know what is true about ourselves and having the court see and affirm that is really, really important,” Chase said.
Oregon already allowed X gender markers on ID documents.
It was already possible to use the X gender marker on driving licenses and passports in Oregon, but those changes are administrative, and not reflective of a person’s legal gender.
More than 100 members of Congress on Thursday called upon President Trump to implement last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that says Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans anti-LGBTQ employment discrimination.
“In light of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, we request that your administration direct all relevant agencies to undertake a review of all regulations, executive orders, and agency policies that implicate legal protections for LGBTQ individuals under federal civil rights laws,” reads the letter.
The letter notes the Trump administration “has repeatedly issued dozens of regulatory and agency actions premised almost entirely on the claim that federal bans on sex discrimination do not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity” and points out the White House “argued against the employees in Bostock.” The letter also calls upon the Trump administration to identify “the steps it is taking to implement the Bostock decision and fully enforce our nation’s civil rights laws that prohibit sex discrimination.
“All people should have confidence that their federal government is working to protect — not undermine — their rights,” reads the letter. “We therefore ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that LGBTQ people enjoy the full protections of the nation’s federal civil rights laws.”
U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) are among the lawmakers to who signed the letter.
A separate letter that 116 members of Congress signed on Wednesday urges Defense Secretary Mark Esper and U.S. Attorney General William Barr to rescind the ban on openly transgender servicemembers. The letter of which Norton, Raskin and Wexton are among the signatories also notes the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Bostock case.
“This policy is an attack on transgender service members who are risking their lives to serve our country and it should be reversed immediately,” reads the letter.
If you’re one of the more than 44 million people who have become recently unemployed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be worried about what that might mean for your access to health care, HIV care, or PrEP.
“We have seen a lot of people in our PrEP program or who receive our HIV services–in addition to new clients who have recently lost their health insurance–who come in wondering how to afford their medications,” said Reina Hernandez, PrEP benefits and HIV linkage manager.
“Income from unemployment benefits might put you above the Medi-Cal threshold, meaning that you won’t be able to access full-scope Medi-Cal coverage. And then you’re left choosing whether to use your unemployment benefits to buy insurance or on other necessities like food and rent,” they said.
The good news is that there are a variety of free programs that can help people afford HIV and PrEP treatment and care even if they don’t have insurance, said Hernandez. Gilead’s medication assistance program covers PrEP and the HIV medications made by the company. ADAP, California’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program, can help cover medications, out-of-pocket lab and medical visit costs, in addition to insurance premiums. (You can find a full list of PrEP affordability programs at PleasePrEPMe.org.)
It can be difficult to figure out which programs you qualify for, and how to apply and use benefits, which is where benefits navigators can help.
“Call us, email us, leave us a voicemail, or come in to see us in person. We’ll make sure that you get onto some kind of assistance program, regardless of your immigration status,” said Hernandez. “Even if you’re just visiting the U.S. temporarily, or are living here long-term without residency, we can help.”
If you live outside the San Francisco Bay Area, and are interested in seeing a local benefits navigator, contact any local community health centers or AIDS service organizations in your area to find out if that service is offered. You can also use the PleasePrEPMe.org search tool, filtering results by “accepts uninsured.” If you call a PrEP or health care provider, ask if they have benefits managers, case managers, or social workers who can help you find and apply for assistance programs.
“What this epidemic has demonstrated is that we can’t rely on employer-provided health insurance,” said Hernandez. “COVID-19 has shown us the shortcomings of our current systems–health care in addition to financial, political and social. Since employment isn’t guaranteed, health insurance tied to employment just isn’t sustainable. We need to move to systems like single-payer universal health care, where regardless of your employment you have coverage.”
Resources
Please PrEP Me
Find a PrEP provider, chat with a service navigator, and find useful information about how to pay for PrEP. https://www.pleaseprepme.org/
Melissa Bashardoust’s Girl, Serpent, Thorn has the lushness of a fairy tale and the boldness of the best contemporary YA fantasy. This opulent novel, inspired by traditional Persian stories, combines all the romance and intrigue of high fantasy with a deep exploration of the main character’s emotional world and relationship to her own strength. Back matter, including an extensive Author’s Note, provides more context about the fairy tales, myths, traditions, and cultural references that Bashardoust has woven into the novel, as well as suggestions for further reading for those interested in learning more.
Soraya, the shah’s sister, is hidden away from the public eye so that no one will discover the curse a div, or demon, placed upon her as a child: by sending div blood coursing through her veins, the demon ensured any living being Soraya touches will instantly die. When a mysterious, handsome soldier offers to help undo her curse, Soraya is smitten––and quickly embroiled in a political battle that sees her family’s rule upended in a coup d’état. The soldier turns out to be the feared half-man, half-div Shahmar, and he wants Soraya, another human who knows what it’s like to be part-div, to join his side in submitting the humans and divs to his violent rule.
Soraya is successful at undoing her curse, but now she must figure out how to stop the Shahmar from murdering her entire family, while still feigning interest in his romantic advances. To make matters more complicated, Soraya finds herself falling for Parvaneh, a female div who helped turn the Shahmar into the powerful creature he is and has regretted it ever since. Soraya isn’t sure she can trust a div like Parvaneh––especially one who proves so alluring––but with no other allies, she doesn’t have much choice.
The two team up to try to outwit the Shahmar and save Soraya’s family and Parvaneh’s fellow divs before it’s too late. As they sneak around the Shahmar’s heavily-guarded mountain fortress, their attraction deepens, with each touch a heightened sensation for Soraya, who spent so many years unable to even risk brushing up against another person for fear of striking them dead. Soraya describes the spark between her and Parvaneh as a kind of “wanderlust,” with her fingertips yearning “to explore new landscapes, new textures.” As the danger ramps up, these quiet moments between Soraya and Parvaneh become a tender respite, dramatizing Soraya’s longing for intimacy, both physical and emotional.
The story is sexy, bloody, and luxurious, but perhaps the most interesting part is the way Soraya slowly begins to see the things that have always made her different as not a weakness, but a strength. Her curse may have been just that––a curse––but it also gave her a way to defend herself. And when she makes a choice later in the book that means risking becoming cursed again, it is because she understands the div blood that ran through her veins in a new way. Perhaps being different doesn’t mean being shameful. Perhaps it doesn’t have to mean hiding away.
In a story about a protagonist who experiences attraction to more than one gender, this character arc is especially affirming. The Shahmar may be the first one to tell Soraya, “You and I don’t belong fully to either world,” but it is Parvaneh’s gentle love that helps Soraya see maybe she can simply belong to both: “Soraya no longer had to choose between one piece of herself and another. She could be whole.”
Girl, Serpent, Thorn By Melissa Bashardoust Flatiron Books Hardcover, 9781250764942, 336 pp. August 2020
Although AIDS conferences have previously tackled the issue of racial disparities in HIV, conversations often stop with data and urgent calls to reach “key populations” or “those most at risk for HIV,” coded language oftentimes referring to Black, brown, Latinx and Indigenous people of color in the U.S.
Now, conversations about racism and racial justice in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and others are permeating the largest international conference on HIV and AIDS–AIDS 2020–held virtually the week of July 6, 2020. Researchers, practitioners, and activists are discussing systemic bias in public health and our medical systems, and are providing ideas on how to incorporate anti-racist frameworks into the HIV response. Here’s some of what’s been shared.
In a presentation titled “Breathing is a human right” (Bridging Session 1), Darius Rucker, from Williams and Associates, shared his experience as a Black queer man living with HIV in order to name the racist policies and procedures that continue to place Black queer people at a disadvantage in HIV care and prevention.
“It took eight months between my [HIV] diagnosis and linkage to medication,” said Rucker. “In April 2011, my diagnosis was given to me. Months later, I was still not on medications, and was sick. December 2011, still no meds, sick, dying, AIDS. I didn’t have a doctor, a case manager, or support. I needed someone to walk with me. What could have been different? Access to equitable healthcare, and better conversations about healthcare. Racism, homophobia, stigma and HIV still continue.”
Wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt, Gregorio Millet, from amfAR, gave a comprehensive overview of some of the nuanced ways that historical legacies, policies, and other societal structures aggravate disparities experienced by Black Americans (Prime Session 1) in HIV and now COVID-19. He pointed to systemic biases which dictate who gets access to new technology, such as COVID-19 testing.
“COVID-19 testing centers are less likely to take place or to be located in African American or Latino communities. And we saw the exact same thing, unfortunately, with HIV, when antiretroviral therapy became available. We saw the disparity in mortality rates actually increased between African Americans and whites during the time when ART became available. And that’s because African Americans had less access to antiretroviral therapy and thus were more likely to die,” said Millet.
Access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is also an issue for many Black Americans.
People in the South, particularly people who are Black, experience the highest rates of HIV infection in the U.S., yet have the lowest rates of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake, shared Jodie Guest, from Emory University (Oral Abstract Session C08). The “PrEP to need” ratio–the number of PrEP users divided by the number of people diagnosed with HIV–is highest in the West (over 25) and lowest in the South (less than 10), pointing to the stark need for increased PrEP access in the South among people of color. In addition to access issues experienced by people in the South, Guest pointed to startling low rates of PrEP awareness (11% in one study), and concluded by emphasizing that PrEP scale up must be equitable.
In San Francisco, Jonathan Volk shared continuum of care data from the Kaiser Permanente PrEP program, which found that African American clients were less likely to receive a PrEP prescription, less likely to begin PrEP, and more likely to discontinue PrEP (Oral Abstract Session C08).
“Given the pervasive effects of systemic racism and anti-blackness in our country, it is imperative that we implement an anti-racist approach to PrEP,” said Albert Liu, MD, MPH from San Francisco Department of Public Health, in a session about creating “person-centered” PrEP programs and reducing barriers to PrEP access and retention (Bridging Session 06).
Liu explained that, according to Ibram Kendi’s “How to be an Antiracist,” ideas and policies are either racist or anti-racist, and racist policies are the cause of racial inequities. This includes health inequities, such as those in HIV incidence and PrEP uptake, which means it’s critical for providers and those in power to upend and revise existing systems. Pointing to a “PrEP equity index” developed by Myers and colleagues, Liu said that PrEP use must increase by up to 300% in Black men who have sex with men (MSM) and 230% in Latino MSM to achieve equity with white MSM in New York City.”
“It’s critical that we examine all steps of the PrEP continuum to ensure PrEP delivery is anti-racist,” said Liu.
“Your HIV organization or health department probably has a racist history–all of ours do,” said Felipe Flores, from San Francisco AIDS Foundation (Satellite Session On-Demand). “Building bridges with BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] organizations, offering resources and services to these community partners, begins to heal some of the failings that we have inherited or created.”
Flores said it is critical to dedicate time, appointments, and resources to communities that “we have collectively failed,” and to be “loud and unrelenting about it.”
“What holidays does your organization get time off for? What events does your outreach team go to? What languages are your materials in? Who is pictured on flyers? Integrate a racial justice framework into everything you do,” said Flores.
Carmarion Anderson, from Human Rights Campaign, shared her perspective as a Black trans woman working in HIV advocacy to drive home the importance of understanding of intersectionality in order to connect with (not “target”) people of color living with or at risk for HIV (Symposium SS21).
“You have to understand what barriers we face. Before you offer me an HIV test, before you offer me a biomedical intervention like PrEP, you have to understand the trauma I have gone through,” she said. “Some of these things [rejection, poverty, depression] influence how we show up as you are trying to aid us and implement the work of your organization.”
As Anderson spoke about advocacy, she gave an important recommendation for organizations who work with Black and trans communities.
“As a Black trans woman, I can speak up for who I am. And if I can speak up for myself, I can also sit at your table of decision. You understand what I’m saying. That means you can employ me, in order to have my voice, my narrative and my community working with you,” she said.
Carmen Logie, from University of Toronto, also used an intersectionality framework to present the experiences of Black, Caribbean, African and Indigenous women living with HIV in Canada (Bridging Session 12). Women of color are overrepresented in the number of HIV infections that happen among women in Canada, said Logie, and oftentimes experience the intersectional stigmas related to race, gender, HIV status and sex work.
“Ths intersecting stigma matters,” said Logie. “Racism, HIV stigma and gender discrimination are associated with ART [antiretroviral therapy] adherence issues, depression, and injection drug use. It shapes mental health. We need intersectional stigma interventions, and we need them now. We need them to be trauma-informed, and have a harm reduction approach.”
Monica McLemore, from University of California, San Francisco, shared her personal experience being born prematurely to a Black mother as she spoke about health inequities faced by Black Americans and the importance of movements like Black Lives Matter to HIV prevention and care (Symposium SS21).
“In New Jersey, where I was born, infant mortality was double the rate for mothers of color compared to white mothers. I am lucky and grateful to be alive.” said McLemore. “Now, we have to deal with two two pandemics at once: the novel coronavirus, and racism. We can do better, and we have to.”
McLemore urged the HIV community to consider, and incorporate, the principles of Black Lives Matter and the movement for Black lives into the HIV response. “If we place our asks in terms of a human rights frame, the health of everyone can, and will, and should improve.”
In a presentation about including community in the plan to end HIV (Symposium SS21), Venton Jones-Hill, from Southern Black Policy Advocacy Network advocated for meaningful participation of Black communities in HIV policy. “We need to strengthen the capacity of Balck communities and leaders in the U.S. South to engage in health policy deliberations to improve policy, programs and research,” said Jones-Hill. “Community has to be in the middle of the conversation.”
“Now, after the death of George Floyd and many others, you see this complete shift in sensibility where a majority of white Americans, Black Americans, Latino Americans, and Asians support the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Millet. “And one of the things that was really one of the happiest things that I see lately was in my own neighborhood, two blocks from where I grew up in Brooklyn, there was a rally for thousands of people in support of trans Black women’s lives–saying their lives mattered as well. We need to make sure that communities are at the center of the response and at the center of providing solutions for some of these health crises.”
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Visit AIDS2020.org for information about the conference. Presentations and materials from the conference will be made available to the general public at the end of July, 2020 through the conference website.
After a stream of overwhelming resident support and a game-changing swing vote from Mayor Evelyn Mitchell, Healdsburg business owner and revered community member, Ozzy Jimenez, is now Healdsburg’s newest city councilmember.
In a 3-1 vote following the public interview process of four council candidates on July 7, the Healdsburg City Council voted to appoint Jimenez to the remainder of former Mayor Leah Gold’s council term, a 2.5-year run.
A local business owner, Jimenez is the co-founder and CEO of Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar and the co-founder of Moustache Baked Goods. He is also the vice chair of nonprofit Healdsburg Forever, and an appointed California Democratic Assembly delegate for Senator Mike McGuire.
At a turning point for a small city where its residents have strongly voiced the need for representation that better reflects the diversity of the community, Jimenez, a member of the LGBTQ and Latinx communities, was given the oath of office and was sworn in as a councilmember Tuesday night.
While swearing-in ceremonies are often met with large crowds packed in council chambers, this moment took place virtually over Webex after councilmembers said they wanted to complete the task before their next meeting in August.
There was a brief moment of silence while Acting City Clerk Raina Allan gathered the oath of office documents and then Jimenez raised his right hand and took the oath of office.
Jimenez’s first meeting as an official councilmember will be Monday, Aug. 3, following a council recess this month.
“Our city is being faced with challenges like we have never seen before, COVID-19, the impending fire season, a possible economic downturn and racial injustice,” Jimenez said in his opening interview statement. “In 2016, I spent every Monday in the city council chambers for the entire year. I never missed a meeting and I learned that perhaps someday I would be called to serve. I am ready to pull up my sleeves and serve my community.”
Deliberation time
While all four city councilmembers — Mitchell, Councilmember/vice mayor Shaun McCaffery, Councilmember Joe Naujokas and Councilmember David Hagele, voiced support for Jimenez — not all initially agreed that he should be immediately appointed to the 2.5-year term.
At the June 29 city council meeting when councilmembers were trying to decide how to proceed — either with a 2.5-year appointment, an interim appointment until a special election, or simply through an election — McCaffery said he preferred to fill the vacant seat through the process of a special election on Nov. 3. At the time, Mitchell was also leaning toward that option.
During Tuesday evening’s meeting, McCaffery stood firm on his stance to call an election, however, Mitchell said she would offer her support for the appointment of Jimenez to the full term.
“I think this is a point where we can embrace and ensure the diversity of our city council. I find myself in the swing vote position and as mayor now, I see it as my responsibility to bring consensus to the council,” Mitchell said. “With reservations about the process, but not the candidate, I will add my vote to appoint for the full term.”
McCaffery was the only dissenting vote on the motion to appoint Jimenez to the full term, however, he said he thought Jimenez would be a good person for the role.
New perspectives at the dais
Since Jimenez announced his plan to apply for the council seat in a social media post at the end of June, he received countless words of encouragement and support.
“A sincere thank you. To you all,” Jimenez wrote on his Facebook page on June 28. “I’ve received so many emails of support of the full appointment and hoping council will make the right choice. “
At the June 29 city council meeting, a dozen or so locals spoke highly of Jimenez and urged the council to appoint him.
Many cited Jimenez’s commitment to the community, his experience as a delegate and his volunteer time as reasons he would be a good fit for the position. Speakers also said his experience as a Plaza business owner and as a member of the LGBTQ and Latinx communities would bring a fresh perspective to the table, making him the ideal candidate for the job.
“As a member of the Latinx community, the LGBTQ community and as an entrepreneur, I really cannot think of another individual who would bring so much to representation on the council at this time,” resident Deb Kravitz said during last week’s meeting.
Speakers at the meeting Tuesday night shared similar sentiments and councilmembers were unanimous in the belief that he would be the best choice for council.
“Of the candidates, the one that stands out the most to me is Ozzy Jimenez. I have a background in business, but I don’t own a retail business in downtown, and I think that is a very important lens for us to be able to welcome to our decision making process as we move through COVID and some of the other issues that we have coming up,” Hagele said. “I did see him along with a number of the other local businesses downtown jump into action when the Kincade Fire hit and it wasn’t something where we as a city had to reach out to our local businesses, they called us when we were at the evacuation center when the fire first started. They were right there and I think that speaks to the commitment to the community. He also has the ability to step right in (into the council job).”
Naujokas echoed Hagele’s thoughts, and said Jimenez has a good commitment to the community.
“He has a clear demonstration to the commitment of building the community with the community foundation and his history supporting youth in the town,” Naujokas said.
Naujokas also recognized that locals are ready for a change.
“What I see is a tectonic shift of public consciousness toward taking active steps to address racial justice and racial inequity. I think our constituents, our global society is ready for a change, it’s ready to seize this moment of opportunity and really make a significant step towards addressing the scourge of racism that we seem to never shake off,” Naujokas said.
Candidate pool
Even though Jimenez was ultimately selected for the role, councilmembers emphasized that all of the other applicants, Richard Bottarini, Alex Silverman and Skylaer Palacios, were strong candidates.
Candidates were allowed to provide an opening and closing statement during their interview process. They also had to answer three questions:
What would you do to hit the ground running/prepare for August council meetings?
How would you reach out to folks outside of your own social circle and garner community input on important issues?
What important personal qualities would you bring to the council and how would you work to get consensus on the council?
The councilmembers were also permitted to ask follow up questions in response to each person’s answers to the five questions that were included in the application.
During his Q&A session, Bottarini cited his 40 years of experience working in government and his time serving on the Healdsburg Planning Commission. He said if appointed, he would find ways to reach out electronically to constituents to discuss pertinent issues, and he identified the hiring of a new city manager as a top priority for the city.
Silverman, who’s worked in the tourism and service industry for 10 years, said while he does not have much experience in the political sphere, he could be a voice for the younger population of Healdsburg. He said he could bring empathy, listening skills and the ability to be patient in the face of criticism, to the council chambers. Of the top issues facing Healdsburg, he pointed towards COVID-19 and the local economy.
Palacios said that she could bring a “lived-in” perspective to the council, as well an ability to look at issues through an equality and diversity lens. She also voiced her love for the community and said that she’d advocate for not only affordable housing, but for low-market rate housing in order to help those, such as vineyard workers, who’ve worked to support the wine and tourism “backbone” of the city.
Councilmembers noted that applying for a city councilmember position is a testament to the applicants clear commitment to community.
“We’re happy we have a chance to hear from four people, we are glad you threw your hat in the ring,” Mitchell said.
Hagele echoed Mitchell’s thoughts and thanked Bottarini, Silverman, Palacios and Jimenez for applying.
“I appreciate everybody who applied and stepped up,” he said.
Instagram is taking a hard line on conversion therapy, announcing that it will block all posts promoting the abhorrent practise.
Attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity have been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organisation for decades and are linked to higher risks of depression, suicide, and drug addiction.
Instagram’s public policy director Tara Hopkins acknowledged the harm it causes as she explained how the company is changing the way it handles conversion therapy content.
“We don’t allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity and are updating our policies to ban the promotion of conversion therapy services,” she said, speaking exclusively to the BBC.
She continued: “We are always reviewing our policies and will continue to consult with experts and people with personal experiences to inform our approach.”
Earlier this year Instagram banned the promotion of conversion therapy in ads. From Friday (July 10), any content linked to the practise will be banned across all posts on the platform.
The company stresses that it will take time to update all of its policies to reflect this blanket ban, so while some content that users flag may not immediately be removed, over time that should change.
But conversion therapy is still legal in the UK, despite the government promising to eradicate it two years ago in its July 2018 LGBT+ Action Plan.
Campaigners are now urging the government to make good on its promise, with Elton John, Stephen Fry, Munroe Bergdorf and Dua Lipa joining over influential public figures in calling for a ban.
“Theresa May, as prime minister, vowed to eradicate this “abhorrent” practice in 2018 and since then the British public has been waiting expectantly, not least the LGBTQ+ community,” they write.
“The government has said recently that conversion therapy is complex, which it undoubtedly is, and although we acknowledge this issue is nuanced we strongly believe that effective legislation, supported by a programme of work to help tackle these practices in all their forms, is possible.
“Any form of counselling or persuading someone to change their sexual orientation or behaviour so as to conform with a heteronormative lifestyle, or their gender identity should be illegal, no matter the reason, religious or otherwise — whatever the person’s age.”
The global fight against AIDS was faltering even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and this newly emerged viral disease is now threatening to put progress against HIV back by 10 years or more, the United Nations said on Monday.
“The global HIV targets set for 2020 will not be reached,” the U.N.’s AIDS agency said in a report. “Even the gains made could be lost and progress further stalled if we fail to act.”
Latest data from 2019 show that 38 million people worldwide are now infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, the report said, a million more than in 2018.
Some 25.4 million HIV positive people were on antiretroviral treatment in 2019 – a huge advance on a decade ago, but one that still leaves 12.6 million not getting medicines that can keep the virus at bay and prevent its spread.
The report also found the world is far behind in preventing new HIV infections, with 1.7 million new HIV cases in 2019.
“Every day in the next decade decisive action is needed to get the world back on track to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS’ executive director.
The worst regions for HIV’s spread were eastern Europe and central Asia, which together have seen “a staggering” 72 percent rise in new HIV infections since 2010, UNAIDS said.
New HIV infections also rose in the Middle East and North Africa, by 22 percent, and by 21 percent in Latin America.
The report said the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in China in January, has already “seriously impacted” the AIDS fight, with lockdowns and travel and trade disruptions delaying or halting HIV treatment and testing services.
It said a six-month complete disruption in HIV treatment could cause more than 500,000 extra deaths in sub-Saharan Africa over the next year, bringing the region back to levels of AIDS death rates last seen more than a decade ago, in 2008.
California prison officials are staring down yet another lawsuit from a transgender woman who says she was abused in custody.
C. Jay Smith, 59, filed a federal lawsuit last Monday alleging that staff members at San Quentin State Prison, just north of San Francisco, refused to investigate reports she had filed after having been sexually abused and that they retaliated against her. Smith alleges that the campaign went so far that guards falsely accused her of serious violations, potentially adding 10 years to her sentence.
A 36-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California claims that staff members at the prison “used threatening and coercive tactics to try to get her to withdraw her allegations.”
“Ms. Smith’s case demonstrates that the ‘Me Too’ movement and the protections it has provided to women needs to also find its way to the violence and state-initiated torment transgender people face behind CDCR’s prison walls,” the suit says, referring to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Smith has lived almost her entire life as a woman, according to the complaint. She knew she was transgender at 10 years old and started to transition as a teenager, the suit states. But after she was sentenced to 25 years to life with the possibility of parole, she has spent the entire term — now more than two decades — housed in men’s prisons.
Her complaint alleges that from the time she arrived at a CDCR Reception Center in 1998, officers “allowed multiple men in custody to rape Ms. Smith repeatedly over four consecutive days.” Research has found that sexual abuse of transgender women in prison, especially those housed in men’s facilities, is not uncommon: A 2010 study published in Justice Quarterly, which was cited in Smith’s complaint, found that 59 percent of trans women in men’s lockup facilities had experienced at least one instance of sexual assault.
The 1998 assaults weren’t the only time Smith says she was a victim of sexual violence. Smith said she was again violently raped in 2013, shortly after she arrived at San Quentin, by an unknown assailant who “attacked from behind,” according to the lawsuit.
Not knowing the identity of her attacker “caused her to subsequently experience even more severe symptoms of PTSD,” the complaint alleges, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Ms. Smith has been the target of indecent exposure and lewd sexual acts by many men in custody,” her complaint states. “She has also been verbally harassed and called homophobic and transphobic slurs by staff — including medical and custody staff — on numerous occasions. The repeated sexual assaults and harassment aggravated Ms. Smith’s PTSD, resulting in her placement in outpatient or inpatient mental health treatment for the majority of her incarceration.”
Smith said she became the target of a campaign of harassment by officers at San Quentin when she tried to speak up about the violence. Her cell was “ransacked” and guards left the doors open to allow “other people in custody to steal her property,” the lawsuit says.
“Defendants then caged Ms. Smith like an animal, verbally berated her, threatened her with physical assault, sexually harassed and assaulted her,” the complaint alleges, adding that she was targeted with false reports of rules violations.
Among them was a charge of possession of a deadly weapon after officers reported her for having a graduation statue in her cell, her complaint says. The statue, she claims, had been a gift from a friend years earlier as motivation to complete her GED program. If she is found guilty, Smith could face 10 more years behind bars.
According to the suit, the “campaign of torture and retaliation” alleged against Smith “sent a message” to transgender women who are sexual assaulted in prison: “Do not report sexual violence or safety concerns or you, too, will be targeted.”
Smith’s lawsuit partly hinges on the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, a 2003 law to stop sexual assault behind bars. It requires state prisons to house transgender prisoners case by case with either men or women after asking them where they would feel the safest. It also mandates that prison staff members immediately report and document knowledge or suspicion of sexual harassment or assault.
Smith’s attorneys, Jen Orthwein and Felicia Medina, argue that cases like Smith’s illustrate why many transgender survivors do not report sexual assault behind bars.
The CDCR “knows that there’s widespread PREA violations, and what it does is it uses [disciplinary] process[es] against folks who are the most impacted, such as C. Jay, who is a transgender woman of color, because she reported sexual assault,” Medina said in an interview. “She was set up.”
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Smith is at least the sixth transgender or gender-nonconforming prisoner to have sued the state or its officials in recent years. Candice Crowder, a trans woman, sued in 2017, alleging that guards isolated her in solitary confinement after she reported having been raped at Corcoran State Prison. Crowder’s case was settled for an undisclosed sum. Isaac Medina, a trans prisoner at Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, sued the state last year claiming that corrections officers regularly sexually harassed and threatened him. The case is ongoing.
Three gender-nonconforming people sued the state in November 2017, alleging that the CDCR refused them medical treatment and denied them the opportunity to file grievances after they were sexually assaulted. An amended complaint was filed in 2019, and the case is still being adjudicated.
In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson said the department “cannot comment on pending litigation.”
“CDCR is committed to providing a safe, humane, rehabilitative and secure environment for all people housed in the state’s correctional facilities and has policies, practices and procedures in place regarding the screening, housing and treatment of incarcerated transgender people,” Deputy Press Secretary Terry Thornton said in an email. “CDCR maintains a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment, sexual violence, and staff sexual misconduct. This policy applies to all offenders, all CDCR employees, all volunteers and all contractors.”
Thornton said the department “has not been served with this lawsuit.”
Data show that transgender people face extraordinary rates of violence in prisons and jails. A 2015 report by the Justice Department found that 35 percent of transgender prisoners said they had been sexually assaulted by staff members or other prisoners in the past year. And an NBC News investigation this year found that of 10 trans women interviewed at the California Institution for Men in Chino, nine reported having been sexually assaulted while incarcerated.
Grab the remote, set your DVR or queue up your streaming service of choice! GLAAD is bringing you the LGBTQ highlights on TV this week. Check back every Sunday for up-to-date coverage in LGBTQ-inclusive programming on TV.
Documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado premieres on Wednesday. Every day for decades, Walter Mercado — the iconic, non-conforming TV personality— mesmerized 120 million viewers with his extravagance and positivity. Then he vanished from the public eye. The film takes a look into his life, that mystery, and his enduring legacy. Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado: Wednesday, on Netflix.
A new Netflix film, The Old Guard, will be released on Friday. The film follows a group of mysterious group of immortal mercenaries who have fought to protect the world for centuries. But when their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. The group includes Joe and Nicky, two men deeply in love. The Old Guard: Friday, on Netflix.