CUAV Blog

CUAV Releases 2007 Annual Anti-LGBTQQ Hate Violence Report

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:27:00 GMT

While the overall LGBT murder and suspicious death rates rose in 2007, murder rates for transgender women actually decreased by half (from four to two), a statistic that gives us hope and drive to continue building stronger communities and positive, healing responses to violence.

“In March of 2007, the tragic murder of Ruby Ordeñana galvanized a community response, sparking coalition-building, community healing, and organizing. CUAV helped facilitate a space for transgender people of color, gender-variant folks, surviving family members, friends, and allies to come together and organize, demanding community awareness and sustainability of transgender services in San Francisco,” said Tina D’Elia, CUAV Hate Violence Survivor Program Director. “Queer violence affects all communities—organizing for safety and bringing communities together to heal builds our collective resilience. We must never stop demanding social justice for all.”

This year’s report came almost 29 years to the day after the creation of CUAV was set into motion with the White Night Riots, a community response to the murder of Harvey Milk. Ardel Thomas, a member of CUAV’s Board of Directors and the Chair of LGBT Studies at City College of San Francisco, wrote a tremendous piece, From the Ashes of Harvey Milk, documenting the history of this pivotal moment in the legacy of CUAV and queer liberation.

The New Face of CUAV.org

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:07:00 GMT

We wanted a website that could be an actual tool for LGBTQQ and allied communities working to end the cycles of violence our communities face, and a real extension of the living, breathing CUAV. Set against the backdrop of our home city, San Francisco, with roots to anchor us in our communities and visions for liberation, we are excited to launch our new website as a reflection of our desires for safe, healing, resilient queer communities free from all forms of violence.

We have revamped our online resources for survivors, educators, activists, and service providers; created a blog for CUAV staff, volunteers, and board to share their voices with our communities; built an archive of photographs from past events; and made it easier to get involved, take action, and become a supporter. We hope you will look through our new site, find things that are useful, let us know if there are things that are missing, and stay connected with CUAV. Welcome to our new home on the web!

We Are Not Disposable!

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:36:00 GMT

We heard from local advocates, friends and family members of murdered transgender people as well as survivors of violence, and activists urging us to address the root causes of violence that transgender communities, particularly low-income transgender women of color, face. Representatives of Senator Carole Migden and Assemblymember Mark Leno also spoke out to demand an and to the cycles of violence in transgender communities and pledged their support.

The coalition also made a demand of Mayor Gavin Newsom and the SF Board of Supervisors to reject all budget cuts to programs that promoted transgender phyiscal, mental, economic, and political self-determination. In particular, the coalition demanded that proposed budget cuts to the Center for Special Problem's gender program--a long-time vital resource for low-income transgender people--be rejected. Over 175 people signed demand postcards, which the coalition will be delivering to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors.

CUAV consistently sees extremely high rates of interpersonal and institutional violence against transgender communities--particularly low-income transgender women of color--at the hands of police officers, partners, service providers, community members, immigration officials, and family members. We truly appreciate all of our community members and allied organizations who came out to support this important action. Please check back soon for ongoing ways to support this work.