From The Bay Area Reporter: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=68624
by Seth Hemmelgarn
03/28/2013
Citing concerns about violence against transgender Latina women and others, a nonprofit in San Francisco’s Mission district is planning a rally for tonight (Thursday, March 28).
People with El/La ParaTranslatinas are organizing the rally because “the girls” want to “create visibility that violence is still an issue in our community,” Isa Noyola, El/La’s program supervisor, said.
The event is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the 16th Street BART station plaza (at Mission). The location is near the offices of the agency, which is primarily an HIV prevention organization. El/La’s staff have said assaults and other incidents against transgender women in the neighborhood, as well as other parts of the city, are common. The agency, located at 2940 16th Street, is seeking new office space, due at least in part to safety concerns.
“It’s so much and it’s so constant that it’s part of what they have to deal with as part of being a transgender Latina mujer,” Noyola, who identifies as gender fluid, said, using the Spanish word for woman. “… Violence and harassment and transphobia are just part of the daily routine.”
Details of recent specific incidents are difficult to find, and most city officials say no cases have been reported to them in the last few months. People who work with the women have said victims are often reluctant to report incidents for many reasons – they think police won’t do anything or will even harass them, many of the women are undocumented, and there can be language barriers.
Susan Parra, El/La’s outreach coordinator, said through an interpreter that she was attacked at about 12:30 a.m. February 26, outside the City Club bar, located at 2950 16th Street, across from El/La’s offices.
Continue reading at: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=68624
See Also: The San Francisco Examiner: San Francisco transgender community reports uptick in targeted violence
