Lambda Legal Expands Transgender Rights Project, Launches Mobile Phone Resource

(New York, July 15, 2013) — Today, Lambda Legal announced the expansion of its transgender rights advocacy, officially designating the organization’s body of work as Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project, naming attorney Dru Levasseur project director, and launching a first-of-its-kind online and mobile hub called "Know Your Rights: Transgender."

"For years, Lambda Legal has worked to expand and defend protections for transgender people under federal, state and local laws and other policies.  Growing the Transgender Rights Project will increase our ability to advocate on behalf of transgender people in every aspect of their daily lives," said Hayley Gorenberg, Deputy Legal Director at Lambda Legal. "As legal work on behalf of transgender people evolves, Lambda Legal is grateful to have Dru Levasseur at the helm of the Transgender Rights Project as we expand our role in the fight for equality for all transgender and gender nonconforming people.  Dru brings a wealth of knowledge, years of experience, and great passion to his role as director of the Transgender Rights Project."

Transgender people experience rampant workplace discrimination, endure high rates of harassment and violence, face challenges to family relationships, lack sufficient access to medically necessary health care, and face difficulties in obtaining accurate and appropriate identity documents. Recent Lambda Legal victories like the Glenn v. Brumby case, in which a transgender woman was discriminated against for transitioning at her job in the Georgia Assembly, and the Smith v. Fields case, a lawsuit on behalf of several Wisconsin transgender women in prison who were denied transition-related health care, are steps forward in the movement towards transgender equality.

"Lambda Legal has a strong commitment to litigation and public education around issues of gender identity and gender expression, and I look forward to advancing and expanding the scope of the organization's work," said Dru Levasseur, Transgender Rights Project Director. "We are excited to have the "Know Your Rights: Transgender" resource available online to help transgender people understand their rights and make sure they are respected. Based on the calls to our Legal Help Desk, we know that transgender people—whether they are being harassed by the police or discriminated against at work—need to be able to access information about their rights and the laws in place to protect them, as quickly as possible. This new mobile-friendly resource will give transgender people across the country critical information at their fingertips."

The "Know Your Rights: Transgender" online hub provides comprehensive information about laws and policies at the state and federal level that protect transgender people. This mobile-friendly hub is a comprehensive tool for transgender people and includes legal and advocacy guidance on an array of issues: identity documents, transgender workplace rights, restroom access rights, health care, transgender youth, transgender seniors, transgender parents, and fighting anti-transgender violence. This is the second "Know Your Rights" hub Lambda Legal has launched in the past year joining "Know Your Rights: Youth." The organization is planning additional "Know Your Rights" hubs in the coming year.

Check out Lambda Legal’s Know Your Rights Transgender resource page: http://www.lambdalegal.org/kyr/trans