WHAT'S NEW

AVP has learned of an anti-transgender hate violence incident that occurred on Wednesday, August 17th, 2016 in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens. According to media reports, A 28-year-old transgender woman was attacked by a man wielding a hammer who beat her in the head and said "this is what you get for being gay," before fleeing the scene of the attack. The survivor was treated for her injuries at Elmhurst hospital.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has learned of the homicide of Rae'Lynn Thomas, a Black transgender woman, in Columbus, Ohio. According to media reports, Rae'Lynn, was shot and killed by her mother's ex-boyfriend, James Allen Byrd, who was living with her family at the time of the homicide. According to Rae'Lynn's family members, Byrd was transphobic, and referred to Rae'Lynn as "the devil" before killing her. Rae'Lynn's family is asking police to investigate this as a hate crime, and Shannon Thomas, Rae'Lynn's aunt, told reporters: "He took a light away from all of us that we can't get back." An additional media report in the Columbus Dispatch, which misnames and misgenders Rae'Lynn, reports that the homicide occurred on Wednesday, August 10th, 2016.

On Friday, August 5th, transgender performer Valentine Steaphon was kicked out of New York City gay bar Boots and Saddle in the West Village after she was confronted by a cisgender woman for using the women's restroom. AVP receives numerous reports each year of violence and harassment in or near LGBTQ spaces, places that are supposed to be safe havens for our communities.

Together we can create a city where LGBTQ people are safe from all types of violence, including harassment, discrimination, verbal and physical treats, police and institutional violence.

Today AVP is asking you to take our Bystander Intervention Pledge, #IWillNotStandBy, and to commit to look out for one another, to report anti-LGBTQ violence and discrimination where we witness it, and to intervene in ways that are safe for ourselves and those around us.