PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jay Edidin, Director of Advocacy and LGBTQ+ Initiatives at Women's Community Justice Association (WCJA)
2:58:10
·
127 sec
Jay Edidin, representing the Women's Community Justice Association and the Beyond Rosies campaign, testified in support of Intro 625 and Intro 1027, emphasizing the need for equitable treatment of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in NYC jails.
- Argued that gender-aligned housing should be a right, not a privilege, for TGNCNBI people in custody
- Highlighted the disparity in treatment between cisgender and transgender individuals in jail housing assignments
- Addressed concerns about contraband related to Intro 1027, suggesting it reflects DOC's inability to meet basic needs of TGNCNBI individuals
Jay Edidin
2:58:10
Thank you for your time, Turner.
2:58:11
Members of the committee.
2:58:13
My name is Jay Edden.
2:58:14
I'm the director of advocacy in LGBTQ plus initiatives at the Women's Community Justice Association.
2:58:19
Just an organization that advocates with and on behalf of women and gender expense of people impacted by mass incarceration, and I'm testifying today on behalf of the Beyond Rosies campaign.
2:58:29
And there are a lot of fronts on which to support intro 6 25, and they're all important.
2:58:37
And what I wanna highlight is basic really basic equity.
2:58:40
Because right now, TG and CNBC people are the only population in jails for whom gender aligned housing is treated as a privilege and not a right.
2:58:48
Consider the following.
2:58:50
If a cisgender woman detained on Rikers' broker role should the city punish her by placing her in men's housing, obviously not.
2:58:57
If a cisgender woman were detained on charges of violently assaulting another woman or even more than one woman, does that mean she should be housed in a men's dormitory?
2:59:07
Clearly not.
2:59:08
And should cisgender women who are caught having sex with other women while the attained be placed in men's housing?
2:59:13
No.
2:59:14
And those are really easy answers.
2:59:16
And the other option in this in this scenario is is pretty much unthinkable.
2:59:22
And yet, trends people are still sent to non gender aligned housing for things as simple as minor minor rule infractions.
2:59:31
Intro 625, which would extend the same basic right to TGNC NBI people in custody that their cisgender counterparts already enjoy should likewise be a simple and obvious yes.
2:59:42
I also want to speak briefly to intro 1027.
2:59:45
The city is framed this as a risk for contraband.
2:59:48
And if that is indeed the case, it's a pretty strong argument, not against the bill, but against holding TGNCI people in city custody, as the city is indicating that it is incapable of safely meeting the most basic medical and social needs of our community.
3:00:03
In the meantime, I urge you to vote yes on intro 1027 as well as intro 1025, not to discriminate against an entire population to accommodate incompetence in the part of one of the most overfunded departments in the city.
3:00:16
Thank you.
Sandy Nurse
3:00:17
Thank you.
