The City of Los Angeles has become the nation’s largest city to establish a permanent council of transgender community leaders to advise the City on how to best serve the needs of transgender Angelenos. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined Councilmembers Mitch O’Farrell and Mike Bonin, Controller Ron Galperin, and members of the Human Relations Commission at City Hall Tuesday to announce the creation of the the new Council.
“Today, the City of Los Angeles sends a clear message to transgender Angelenos: your voices matter and your experiences count,” said Mayor Garcetti. “The nine members of our Transgender Advisory Council will bring a new and important perspective to City Hall that will help empower trans Angelenos to lead stigma-free, productive, and meaningful lives.”
Equality California and the Transgender Law Center released a joint statement in response to the formation of the Advisory Council as part of an effort to give the transgender community a voice in local governance.
“The creation of the Transgender Advisory Committee signals Mayor Eric Garcetti’s commitment to investing in the expertise and leadership of transgender residents in Los Angeles,” said Transgender Law Center Executive Director Kris Hayashi. “The City of West Hollywood was the first city in California to establish such an advisory board and now Los Angeles is the largest city – paving the way for other municipalities to follow. We’re at a unique time in the transgender movement where the community is receiving greater visibility and growing acceptance, yet more must be done to ensure compassion, respect and recognition of all transgender Californians in cities across the state.”
Working under the Human Relations Commission, the Transgender Advisory Council will advise the Office of the Mayor, the Los Angeles City Council, City departments and other elected officials on projects and policies that address critical issues facing the trans community — such as economic development, public safety, accessibility, and public awareness.
“Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council displayed the type of proactive and thoughtful leadership that we need to build more supportive and accepting communities,” said EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur. “Cities like Los Angeles and West Hollywood embody what it means to compassionately lead – giving transgender Californians a seat at the table and the respect they deserve in the local government process. Although a growing number of transgender Californians are coming out, it has been a long road to get to this point and we cannot stop until all barriers are removed and every city has established their own transgender advisory council.”
National data on the U.S. transgender population underscores the urgent need for city governments to support and protect the transgender community. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, a study released in 2012 by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, the unemployment rate for trans people is twice that of the general population, and nearly four times as high for transgender people of color. When unemployed, transgender people are twice as likely to become homeless or turn to street-based economies (e.g. sex work, selling drugs), 85% more likely to become incarcerated, and twice as likely to become infected with HIV. The survey also found that 90 percent of employed trans people reported that they have experienced harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination.
