For the first time ever, the Philadelphia Police Department has adopted a policy regarding treatment of those who identify as transgender.
The directive is wide-ranging but, most importantly, emphasizes that the gender identity of transgender individuals — whether they are victims, suspects, witnesses or interacting with law enforcement in another role — should be respected. This signifies a new chapter in police-community relations, and has the potential to bring about impressive strides for wider recognition of the rights of the transgender community.
Primarily, this policy is needed for transgender and gender-nonconforming men and women themselves, who deserve the dignity and affirmation that comes from having the identity they live each day respected by those tasked with protecting all citizens. Just as having a state law that bans the firing of LGBT people shows LGBTs that their identity is affirmed and respected, so too does a policy such as this give the trans identity the validity it deserves. Having a policy in ink, with (hopefully) real repercussions for those who violate it, is a tremendous signal to the trans community that Philadelphia respects and appreciates their role in our city.
And this is a city whose police department has not had a stellar reputation for relations among police and trans communities. We have a number of outstanding homicide cases involving transgender women of color — Nizah Morris, Stacey Blahnik and Kyra Cordova, among them — where serious questions have rightfully been raised about the investigations. Surely, these guidelines will not bring overnight justice to these victims, but they are a positive move toward ensuring the department possesses a culture where all victims, regardless of gender identity or any other factor, are treated equally and fairly — and where all citizens can be confident in that.
From a media standpoint, this is also a much-needed (and appreciated) move. In the past, the department had a policy of identifying victims or suspects to the media solely through their legal names and sex. For PGN, this was a frequent struggle. As a news outlet, we rely on law enforcement to provide up-to-date, accurate facts about a crime when it occurs but, with trans-related cases, were often supplied facts that, while seemingly correct on paper, did not correlate with information we received from the community. We had to abide by journalistic standards of printing only verifiable information, but at times that regrettably put us in the position of disrespecting the gender identity of transgender folks. This new policy is a needed tool to help journalists, both LGBT and mainstream, communicate truly accurate news.
Philadelphia has long been a leader on LGBT-rights issues, and in recent years, has especially emerged as a model for trans equality. We operate a successful and ever-growing annual Trans-Health Conference, trans people serve in visible leadership positions throughout the city and, just last year, we adopted groundbreaking trans-inclusive legislation. However, none of these wins would mean much if trans citizens and visitors do not feel safe on our streets. The new police guidelines are a meaningful, momentous step forward in ensuring all trans people have a place in our city.