The 'Orange is the New Black' star takes to social media to urge cops to do better when dealing with the deaths of trans women.
- Aug 14, 2018
AceShowbiz - Laverne Cox was left stunned and upset after uncovering the truth about how police officials treat transgender murder victims in a hard-hitting new report.
The Orange is the New Black star took to social media on Monday, August 13, in the wake of a ProPublica investigation exposing transphobic practices in police investigations, and urged cops to do better when dealing with the deaths of trans women.
She also issued a call to action against police in Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Tyler, Texas, three departments singled out in the report.
"Being misgendered and deadnamed in my death felt like it would be the ultimate insult to the psychological and emotional injuries I was experiencing daily as a black trans woman in New York City, the injuries that made me want to take my own life," Cox wrote.
The article suggested that the officers in 74 of 85 cases failed to recognise the identities of trans victims.
"As I read this report from ProPublica I sobbed and wept for all the trans people who have been murdered and those experiencing direct, cultural and structural violence," she added. "I wept because I haven't been allowing myself to. I wept for all of the violence I have experienced in my own life".
The ProPublica piece also suggested many police departments don't have regulations in place when dealing with transgender individuals, and, in many cases, cops use transphobic language such as "transvestites" when reporting on incidents.
"I have been saying for years that misgendering a trans person is an act of violence," Cox added. "I am angered, saddened and enraged that the police in Jacksonville, Florida and other jurisdictions don't have policies in place to respect the gender identities of trans folks when they have been MURDERED. This misgendering and deadnaming also impedes the investigations into these murders. Injustice on top of injustice!".
