The White House hosted an LGBTQ Tech summit last month to discuss how the federal government can better address the needs of the transgender community. It was from this meeting that the #TransNeeds twitter campaign, launched Wednesday, was born.
Very excited to see the transgender community lead by creating the #transneeds initiative. Send in your transgender needs w/ that #.
The volunteer-run group created a Twitter handle based on the hashtag in hopes of discovering how the federal government can better serve transgender community.
Trans activist Janet Mock and actor Laverne Cox took up the hashtag right away:
Share your thoughts/observations with @transneeds using #transneeds! #trans #girlslikeus #transisbeautiful https://t.co/cPcyIUug4S
#Transneeds https://t.co/sSYYKHRUms
Now others are lending their voices, commenting on the need for safe restrooms, non-discrimination laws, and more inclusive healthcare:
Transgender training and education for all federal employees that interact with the public or work with citizen data. #transneeds
#transneeds mandatory trans-competency training for ALL officials (TSA, police, immigration, DMV, etc)
#transneeds Law that business has to allow for people to transition on the job and not be fired for it.
Mental Health facilities with all staff, doc to RX qualified and component to end trauma when we're at our most vulnerable #transneeds
Fried told BuzzFeed News that the group's ultimate goal is to get a sense for the unmet needs of the trans community and hear from as wide of a cross-section as possible.
#transneeds We need the federal anti discrimination law.Right now it's legal to not hire someone because they are trans in most of the USA.
#TransNeeds Nationwide reform of ID policies to make obtaining proper photo ID easier to keep #Trans lives safer.
People need access to HRT even if they cant produce a letter from an "expert" telling them they are "eligible" for HRT #transneeds
The findings will be reported back to both the Office of Public Engagement and the Office of Science and Technology Policy with recommendations for further study.
"Our project will produce a report that will include a data analysis of the social media listening campaign as well as recommendations on actions the government could take," Fried explained.
My daughter asks "was she born like me?" #transneeds visibility & support so she can have more role models like @janetmock @JazzJennings__
#transneeds I work for the government but they don't recognize any kind of gender other than the binary. Let me be genderfluid!
#transneeds To not be treated like a monolith - my experiences and desires aren't indicative of every trans woman. Never will be.
Excited to discover @transneeds! I have a job, housing, healthcare -- & that needs to be normal for #trans people, not lucky. #transneeds
@transneeds HOPE! A path for those in poverty to attain surgery in a timely manner. #transneeds