Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety (GIRDS) Act

Transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary, and intersex (TGNCNBI) New Yorkers often survive at the intersection of many socioeconomic burdens. They are also notoriously policed and criminalized, and thus disproportionately likely to be incarcerated. During processing and while in custody, people whose gender expression does not conform to their sex assigned at birth are frequently misgendered and referred to in demeaning ways by correctional officers. The vast majority of TGNCNBI individuals are placed in facilities that do not match their gender identity or that otherwise put their safety at risk. S.1049/A.5478 would help keep TGNCNBI people safe by requiring that prisons and jails presumptively house people consistently with their gender identities, unless they opt-out, with a list of reasons that cannot be used as the basis for a denial; ensuring that staff at facilities respect a person’s gender identity in all contexts, including name and pronoun use and during searches; and mandating access to clothing, toiletry items, and grooming standards consistent with a person’s gender identity.

The NYCLU strongly supports S.1049/A.5478 and urges its immediate passage.