NEW YORK — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has released a report with a series of recommendations to better serve the transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary community in New York City and across the country.
The report, described by the DA’s office as a “first-of-its-kind effort” is designed to enhance the work of prosecutors when dealing with community members who are trans or whose gender identity or expression might differ from the more traditional male/female gender roles.
Released Friday, the report was the result of a collaboration between current DA staff members and LGBTQ community stakeholders, including the NYC Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, the NYC Commission on Human Rights, and the Hetrick Martin Institute, the nation’s oldest nonprofit serving LGBTQ youth.
The group — led by trans rights advocate Cecilia Gentili — reviewed current practices and suggested protocols to lessen the trauma members of the community have historically faced at the hands of the legal and correctional systems.
“Trans and nonbinary individuals, as well as gender non-conforming folks, have a long history of mistreatment when meeting the criminal justice system,” Gentili, the founder of Trans Equity Consulting, said in a statement. “These recommendations are a great starting point to create healing and find inclusive and caring ways to shift their experience to better outcomes.”
Among the recommendations highlighted in the report is the creation of a more detailed intake form for people who contact the office, with the inclusion of pronouns, titles, and an option for victims to list their chosen name; the consolidation of the DA office’s current eight hotlines into one single hotline number; the development of a system to better refer victims to available services; and the implementation of more gender-neutral bathrooms.
“Commissioning this report helped to highlight where we can take stronger action,” Bragg said Friday. “Now we will immediately begin to implement as many of these recommendations as possible and remain committed to transparency throughout this ongoing process.”
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