A Blueprint for Reform: Police and Transgender Rights

Photo via CANVA

Our country is failing transgender and nonbinary people. We face attacks every day― discrimination, harassment, and physical violence ― for simply existing.

The highest number of identified transgender and nonbinary people were killed in 2021 than in any single year since the National Center for Transgender Equality began tracking these deaths.

Ending the violence against transgender and nonbinary people is a complex task that will require complex solutions.

Police, however, are often part of the problem. They contribute to the violence in dangerous ways.

In the most recent United States Transgender Survey, more than half (57 percent) of respondents reported they are uncomfortable seeking police assistance, and the survey reveals why so many transgender and nonbinary people feel this way.

One in five (20 percent) transgender or nonbinary people who had interacted with police reported verbal harassment, and 7 percent of individuals reported that they experienced physical or sexual assault by officers.

Of respondents who interacted with officers who thought or knew they were transgender, more than half (58 percent) experienced some form of mistreatment. This included being verbally harassed, repeatedly referred to as the wrong gender, physically assaulted, or sexually assaulted, including being forced by officers to engage in sexual activity to avoid arrest.

Police frequently assumed that respondents, particularly transgender women of color, were sex workers. Of those who interacted with the police while doing sex work or while suspected of doing sex work, the vast majority (86 percent) reported mistreatment by police, including being verbally harassed, physically attacked, or sexually assaulted by officers.

We cannot address violence against transgender and nonbinary folks without addressing the ways that police participate in this violence.

Here are seven policy changes that could begin to turn things around at every level of  law enforcement:

• • Enact strong prohibitions on using sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis to stop, question, detain, or arrest any person;
  • Enact policies to prevent discrimination in police interactions with transgender and nonbinary people, including ensuring people are not subject to discriminatory profiling, intentional misgendering (verbal or in writing), or unnecessary searches;
  • Prevent and respond to officer sexual misconduct, including all forms of sexual conduct while on duty or using police property or insignia;
  • Create a strong duty to report officer sexual misconduct and proactive mechanisms to detect abuse;
  • Reduce the violence faced by sex workers and drug users by decriminalizing their behavior and emphasizing support and harm reduction;
  • Repeal offenses used to target transgender people and women of color generally as sex workers, such as loitering for the purposes of prostitution;
  • Explicitly protect sex workers’ right to report crimes against them without fear of arrest.

Weaponizing Fear

Trans people, just like all people, deserve to live lives free of discrimination, violence, and fear. Instead, the fear and lack of understanding that some people have of trans people is weaponized against us.

When addressing incidents of violence against transgender and nonbinary folks, law enforcement, journalists, and even loved ones can often deny or reject gender identities by using the wrong names, pronouns, or pictures.

And when transgender people are attacked, they are often afraid to seek help from law enforcement because they have been mistreated in the past.

Photo courtesy National Center for Transgender Equality.

We see our athletes bombarded with hate speech just for doing something they love, especially when they are performing well. Transgender girls are under attack by legislators and school administrators who do not think they should be able to play sports with their peers.

Parents turn their backs on their children, disowning or kicking them out of their homes.

Insurance companies and health care providers often deny us necessary health care, and a growing number of states are debating whether to ban, or even criminalize, safe age-appropriate gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth.

The growing number of political attacks on our right to live our lives causes many of us to struggle with our mental health.

This epidemic of anti-trans violence is rooted in and fueled by the constant dehumanization that we see play out in public discourse.

When politicians discuss denying transgender and nonbinary youth medical care, or banning them from playing sports with their peers, the message that transgender and nonbinary people are different and unwelcome is heard loud and clear.

After Texas legislators proposed more than 70 anti-LGBTQ bills in 2021, including more than 40 that specifically targeted transgender and nonbinary youth, The Trevor Project reported receiving more than 10,800 crisis calls from the state, a 150% increase from the prior year.

“The Trevor Project’s crisis counselors have been hearing from transgender and nonbinary youth in Texas who are scared and worried about anti-trans laws being debated in their state — and some have even expressed suicidal thoughts,” said Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project.

“This is a crisis.”

Transgender and nonbinary people are not the only ones who internalize these dehumanizing messages. The same messages that shatter our sense of safety encourage violence against us and embolden those who would do us harm.

Alexis Rangel

Many other policy changes are also crucial to transgender and nonbinary communities and other social movements seeking fairness and equitable treatment for all.

We must also follow and support the larger work of various communities and movements working for police reform and accountability, especially those working on racial profiling and sex work decriminalization.

The recommendations above are not enough to ensure that all transgender and nonbinary people are treated fairly by police.

But they are a start.

Alexis Rangel (she/they) is policy counsel for the National Center for Transgender Equality. NCTE advocates to change policies and society to increase understanding and acceptance of transgender people.