Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, Intersex, and Nonbinary (TGNCINB) people are some of the most vulnerable populations in jails and prisons and face even more obstacles in an already traumatic environment, like harassment from corrections officers and other incarcerated people. There are some housing options available to help TGNCINB individuals feel safer in prisons and jails but few people know these options and fewer know their legal rights around gender affirming treatment. 

The Bronx Defenders’ LGBTQ Defense Project and the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society teamed up with designers Chloe Chang and D Wang Shi Zhao, and CUP to create Your Truth Your Rights, a booklet to explain TGNCINB folks’ rights to safe housing in New York City jails and New York State prisons. It also highlights other rights that TGNCINB individuals have to feel affirmed in their gender identity and what to do if your rights are violated.

The guide will be distributed throughout New York City by public defenders. It will also be used in trainings for other attorneys and to other community-based organizations that support TGNCINB people.

Resources & Links

The Bronx Defenders’ LGBTQ Defense Project works creatively, zealously, and compassionately to ensure meaningful access to justice and secure better outcomes for our clients. We provide the support needed to establish stability in our clients’ lives, ensure fair treatment of LGBTQ people within the legal systems, and help clients seek redress for state-backed violence and discrimination. 

The Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society is a leading advocate of humane and constitutional conditions in the New York City jails and State prisons. The Project seeks to dismantle the oppression and racism of the carceral system by protecting the safety and basic human rights of the people who are subjected to it. They litigate conditions in the City jails and State prisons, including staff brutality, sexual violence and the need for gender appropriate housing.

Chloe Chang uses a collaborative design process to make information more accessible and outcames more equitable.

D Wang Shi Zhao is a Han Chinese designer and illustrator who is grateful to their fellow Black and PoC trans siblings for existing.

Public Access Design is a program of the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). Public Access Design projects use design to make complex urban issues accessible to the New Yorkers most affected by them. 

Funding Support

Support for this project was provided by The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Members Brad Lander and Antonio Reynoso. 

Special Thanks

Osha Brown, Stefan Outlaw, Miz Qitti Pugh, Saadiya Rothschild, Katie Wong, and everyone else who gave feedback.

Participants

  • CUP
  • Clair Beltran
  • Sucharitha Yelimeli
    • Bronx Defenders
    • Deb Lolai
    • Legal Aid Society
    • Dori Lewis 

      Designers

      Chloe Chang

      D Wang Shi Zhao