TRANSSA Dominicana Stands Up Against Hate Crimes in the Dominican Republic
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| Thalia Almendares (center, right) co-coordinator of TRANSSA Dominicana and allies at their STOP HATE CRIMES street action |
Astraea grantee partner, TRANSSA Dominicana, recently took to the streets in Santo Domingo, capital city of the Dominican Republic, to protest years of hate violence against trans people. Though initially funded solely for HIV/AIDS prevention, as a result of Astraea support this human rights organization has been able to accelerate its social change work and use their expertise to set a bold agenda. The most active organization by and for trans people in the Dominican Republic, TRANSSA advocates for respect and equity for trans people, runs sexual health workshops, holds weekly meetings attended by dozens seeking support and empowerment, and was a key organizer of the unauthorized 2008 Pride March through the city center.
Astraea is TRANSSA’s regional funder under the groundbreaking Sexual Diversity Project of the Consortium of Latin American Women’s Funds. The project supports over 60 lesbian and trans groups in 17 Latin America and Caribbean countries. In January, TRANSSA joined seven other grantee partners in Perú for Astraea’s Latin American convening. Then in March, with Astraea support, TRANSSA attended the largest feminist summit in the region in México City, the first time the event was inclusive of trans-identified feminists. At this historic event, TRANSSA leaders participated in joint actions with other transfeminist and trans-supportive feminist activists, leading to an unprecedented manifesto of transfeminism.
In the next eThreads, hear more about TRANSSA and the jam-packed 5 days of the grantee convening where activists worked from morning to night sharing strategies and building alliances across countries and sexual and gender identities. Stay tuned!
TRANSSA wrote the following letter to Astraea to share their successful STOP HATE CRIMES street action.
En EspanolSubject: TRANSSA-actividad de impacto. Hola queridas compañeras de ASTRAEA:Les escribimos para informarles que recientemente realizamos una actividad de impacto en el marco de la campaña ALTO A LOS CRÍMENES DE ODIO, misma que iniciamos luego de ver como nuestras trans son asesinadas y la justicia no da seguimiento a estos casos de la misma manera como lo hace con los casos de los heterosexuales. En vista de que nuestros Derechos Humanos están siendo violados en todos los ámbitos hemos decidido luchar con las armas que tenemos a la mano para que esta situación cambie, En la actividad que consistió en una concentración en la misma avenida donde las chicas trans ejercen el trabajo sexual, fue apoyada por varias organizaciones que trabajan en defensa de los Derechos Humanos. Al parecer este primer paso fue exitoso ya que la prensa escrita y televisiva reseñó de manera muy respetuosa nuestras peticiones, lo que mueve un poco a la sociedad y los pone a darse cuenta del daño que nos hace la discriminación de la cual ellos nos hacen víctimas, además unas organizaciones extranjeras se han acercado a nosotros para ayudarnos a presionar al estado y a la justicia a esclarecer estos crímenes. Mil gracias ustedes por habernos encaminado hacia el verdadero activismo. apenas esto comienza, ahora es que daremos pelea. VER FOTOS Besos y abrazos de las chicas trans de TRANSSA DOMINICANA |
In EnglishSubject: TRANSSA-actividad de impacto. Hello Dear Astraea Colleagues: We are writing to let you know that we recently carried out a “high impact” activity within the STOP HATE CRIMES Campaign, which we just launched upon seeing how our trans people are murdered and that the authorities don’t follow up on these cases in the same way they do with cases where heterosexuals are involved. As it has become obvious that our human rights are being violated in every way, we decided to come together and fight with the tools we have at hand to seek change in this situation. In this activity, which consisted of a street action in the same avenue where the trans girls congregate for sex work, we were supported by various organizations that work for human rights. It looks like this first step was successful, as we got respectful newspaper and TV coverage of our demands. This potentially moves society our way and makes people realize the damage done by the discrimination they visit upon us. In addition, some foreign organizations in the country have approached us to help press the government and the authorities to investigate these crimes. A thousand thanks to you, Astraea, for having guided us to true activism. This is only the beginning and now we’re gonna fight!
Warm Greetings from TRANSSA’s girls,
Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA)
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