Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

This afternoon the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which also includes protection for transgender and gender non-conforming (as well as lesbian, gay, and bisexual) victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. The bill now going tot he President for signing.

Congress approves LGBT-inclusive VAWA, Obama vows to sign
MetroWeekly
Posted by Justin Snow
February 28, 2013 4:13 PM

An LGBT-inclusive Violence Against Women Act swept through the House of Representatives today, winning a bipartisan majority in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Voting 286 to 138 on Thursday, the House approved the Senate version of VAWA, which includes protections for LGBT victims of abuse. First signed into law in 1994, the vote comes after Congress failed to reauthorize VAWA in October 2011 over objections from Republicans to the LGBT provision, as well as provisions for Native Americans and immigrants.

Although House Republicans attempted to pass their own version of VAWA today without those contested provisions, the House rejected that bill 166 to 257 and passed the Senate version of the bill, which that chamber approved earlier this month 78 to 22.

You can read the article here.

Massachusetts Dept. of Ed. Guidelines for Trans Students

The other day the Massachusetts Department of Education issued guideline for transgender students, "Guidance for Massachusetts Public Schools Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity". The Boston Globe said this about the guidelines...

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Department of Education on Friday issued directives for handling transgender students, including allowing them to use the bathrooms or play on the sports teams that correspond to the gender with which they identify.

The guidance was issued at the request of state board of education to help schools follow the state’s 2011 anti-discrimination law protecting transgender people.

‘‘These students, because of widespread misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about their lives, are at a higher risk for peer ostracism, victimization, and bullying,’’ the document read.

You can read the rest of the story here.


Connecticut's guidelines that CTAC helped write as part of the Safe School Coalition is located here.

Brown University To Cover Trans-Surgery

It was announced last week that Brown University will cover trans-surgery. In the university newspaper last week  they said...

The Brown Student Health Insurance Plan will cover 14 different sexual reassignment surgery procedures starting in August, Director of Insurance and Purchasing Services Jeanne Hebert confirmed in an email to The Herald.

The move makes Brown one of a handful of schools and healthcare providers nationwide to cover the surgeries.

You can read the rest of the article here.