Escape

01 Jun NYSCASA Honors Pride Month 2022

Posted at 13:21h in news, Statements by

Every year in June, we honor Pride Month in solidarity with our LGBTQIA2S community members. Pride Month marks the anniversary of the June 28, 1969, uprising at the Stonewall Inn, when patrons and neighborhood residents resisted harassment and abuse during a police raid on the Greenwich Village gay bar.

The Stonewall Inn acted as a de facto community center for gay youth, drag queens, transgender people, butch lesbians, and sex workers who had taken refuge in New York City in defiance of familial and institutional rejection, many of whom were people of color and/or people experiencing homelessness and economic insecurity.

The uprising lasted from June 28 to July 3, 1969, a six-day period that has been described by historian Lillian Faderman as “the shot heard round the world…crucial because it sounded the rally for the movement.” The Stonewall Uprising called attention to police violence against the LGBT community, particularly LGBT people of color, and is now remembered as a catalyst for mainstream LGBT civil rights organizing.

Although the US has made considerable progress in the decades since Stonewall, people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, or Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2S) continue to face violence, harassment, and discrimination. LGBTQ-identified people experience domestic and sexual violence at rates that are equal to or higher than people who do not share these identities, particularly when they also experience marginalization due to race, ethnicity, immigration status, or disability status.

According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey, nearly half (47%) of respondents were sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime and one in ten (10%) were sexually assaulted in the past year. In addition to experiencing high rates of domestic and sexual violence, transgender and non-binary people are often the targets of anti-trans hate crimes and state violence, including police brutality.

This Pride Month—and every month—NYSCASA proudly supports our LGBTQIA2S community, and we will continue to fight alongside you.

“I am proudly Queer in sexual orientation, and Genderqueer in gender identity. NYSCASA will not stop celebrating the joyous Queer Liberation roots that make Pride Month so special. We will also not stop fighting for the human rights of Queer people, and therefore the human rights of all. Sexual violence is one of the many intersectional driving forces that led to early Queer Liberation Movement leaders like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera to say enough is enough. Though we shouldn’t have to fight for basic human respect and equity, here we are pushing back against hate and bigotry unreserved. Being Queer is beautiful. It also can be painful, and everything in-between. Again, we are simply human. Happy Pride.” —Max Micallef (they/he/she), Public Policy Director

“As a queer and non-binary survivor, I have experienced and witnessed the struggles that many LGBTQIA2S survivors face when seeking support after sexual violence, ranging from microaggressions to lack of awareness and competency from medical and victim service providers to discrimination and further harm. To all LGBTQIA2S survivors: please know that you are not alone. NYSCASA and others are here to support you along your healing journey. To allies: please join us in creating a safer and more equitable New York State for survivors across the spectrum of gender and sexuality.” —Chel Miller (they/them), Communications Director

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