AVP in the news

The death knell for the Violence Against Women Act has been sounding for weeks. "The 112th Congress ended Thursday, and the Violence Against Women Act perished with it," Talking Points Memo wrote in early January.

In reality, the protections for victims under VAWA haven't completely gone away, but they are being threatened by ongoing legislative gridlock that the new Congress is now trying to overcome. Read the full article here »

Domestic violence is a crime in which one person asserts physical power over another individual for the purpose of controlling or dominating that person. As I engage in the legal system to fight for the rights of transgender individuals, I find that many transgender prisoners, especially transgender prisoners of color, are in personal relationships that are violent and abusive. In the pursuit of trying to find love and happiness, many transgender people accept physical abuse as love. The main reason I wrote my memoir, I Rise, was to educate and enlighten others about the transgender journey and the many obstacles that we have to overcome just to survive. Read the full article here »

Roughly 50 people marched on Brooklyn's 77th Precinct to protest the arrest of Jabbar Campbell, a party promoter who says police assaulted him during an event at his Crown Heights home. The group characterized the January 13 police action against Campbell as an anti-gay attack. Read the full article here »

Brooklyn stands as one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. Most of the time, that diversity is celebrated or at least taken in stride as a part of living in the city’s most populous borough. However, Brooklyn also leads the state in hate crimes.  Read the full article here »

In a year where we have seen much progress from the White House and from the Department of Justice in addressing the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) survivors of violence, there is one national body that has failed to act. The 112th Congress has left much undone and has been slow to compromise or propose solutions to a myriad of issues and concerns facing the country – including for LGBTQ survivors of violence. Read the full article here »