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Up Front, Spring 2022
Trans Lives and Positive Visibility
Transgender visibility and misinformation about transgender people have both increased in recent years, according to groundbreaking data about transgender visibility in the United States released this spring by the HRC Foundation, in partnership with Civis Analytics.
The report, “Trans Lives & Positive Visibility: How News & Media Can Positively Cover Trans and Non-Binary Stories,” gives new insight on how media coverage and broader “visibility” can both affect society’s perception of the transgender community as well as transgender individuals.
The report further identifies how media sources may either intentionally or inadvertently perpetuate the stigmatization of trans and non-binary people in the stories that they cover and the way they cover them.
Read the full report at hrc.im/positivevisibility.
Let Us Play
Transgender kids want to play sports for the same reasons all kids do — to make new friends, to have fun, to be part of a team, to belong. In a powerful new video from HRC, released in collaboration with WarnerMedia, trans and non-binary youth tell their stories and plead, “Let us play.”
The video is released as transgender youth are under attack in statehouses across the country and trans athletes face significant barriers to participation.
The campaign, which will air across all WarnerMedia-owned platforms, highlights the social, physical and cognitive benefits of playing school sports for all children — especially those who might be denied because of who they are and how they identify.
Watch the video at hrc.im/ letusplay.
It's About Time
This spring, the Human Rights Campaign celebrated the historic confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Jackson will be the first Black woman and former public defender to sit on the nation’s highest court.
“Today, a brilliant, empathetic, imminently qualified woman of integrity was confirmed to a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States,” said HRC Interim President Joni Madison, following Justice Jackson’s confirmation vote. “After 115 prior justices have been appointed, a Black woman finally has the opportunity to serve — and it's about time.”
Justice Jackson’s record on the bench and as a practicing attorney reveals several significant and encouraging qualities that are relevant to HRC’s mission and to the LGBTQ+ community. Read HRC’s full report on her nomination at hrc.im/judge-jackson-report.
CEI Criteria Evolution
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index is again raising the bar for LGBTQ+ workplace equality with an adjustment to its criteria for the 2023 report. The change reflects a 20-year history of observation, learning and growth that the HRC Foundation is proud to continue to this day. The current and continuing challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community required the HRC Foundation to reevaluate the criteria to meet the ever-changing needs of the community’s members and their families.
The new criteria furthers transgender-inclusive healthcare benchmarks, adds criteria for equivalence in family formation benefit offerings for legal spouses and domestic partners regardless of gender, and builds upon best practices for transgender inclusion in the workplace. A full list of new CEI criteria changes is available at hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index-criteria.
79% PERCENTAGE OF VACCINATED LGBTQ+ SURVEY RESPONDENTS HAVE RECEIVED A COVID-19 BOOSTER
And there’s more encouraging data: Vaccination rates among LGBTQ+ survey respondents remain substantially higher than in the general population, with 93% of respondents in the sample reporting being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This is according to a new report, “LGBTQ+ Health Equity & COVID-19: Vaccine, Boosters and Pathways To Positive Long- Term Health,” developed in partnership by the HRC Foundation and Community Marketing and Insight.
When compared to national data on vaccination rates among U.S. adults, the findings from this data collected in the February 2022 survey show that vaccination and booster rates among LGBTQ+ adults continue to be substantially higher than that of the U.S. general population.
Read the full report at hrc.im/health-equity-covid-19.
Crisis in Ukraine
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian citizens are being driven out of their homes and country in search of safety. LGBTQ+ people caught up in this crisis are at special risk because of the disproportionate impact that conflict or humanitarian crises have on marginalized and vulnerable people.
This spring, HRC invited Rainbow Railroad, an LGBTQI+ refugee advocacy and support organization, for a Twitter Takeover to sound the alarm on the humanitarian crisis that has caused the displacement of millions of Ukrainians following the Russian invasion.
Together, HRC, Rainbow Railroad and others have urged the Biden administration to increase admissions for LGBTQ+ refugees, grant LGBTQ+ refugee organizations official referral status and ensure that discriminatory detention policies are scrapped so that detention is safe for refugees and asylum seekers.
Learn more at hrc.org/resources/ukraine.
