Alternative Sentencing Support

To end the abuses and discrimination that TGI people experience in prisons and jails, we seek to decrease the number of TGI people going into jail or prison by diverting them into needed health, social and economic services, as alternatives to imprisonment.

Legal Advice & Referrals for Prisoners

TGIJP also provides legal advice and referrals to defend the human rights and dignity of TGI people who are experiencing abuse, discrimination and harassment in prison due to their gender and/or intersex status.

International Human Rights Advocacy

We participate in United Nations reviews of the human rights record of the U.S., and educate both the international community and our home communities about our rights under international human rights laws. We bring these rights home by educating our communities on how to leverage these rights in their local activism.

Grassroots Policy Advocacy

We support transgender currentand former prisoners to advocate for policy changes to improve conditions of confinement, and to design and implement alternatives to the Prison Industrial Complex. This work makes us one of the leading experts in the country on issues facing transgender people in prisons.

Community Organizing & Leadership Development

To address the root causes of the human rights abuses against TGI people, we support projects that develop the leadership capacity of TGI communities, especially TGI prisoners and former prisoners. We correspond and visit with TGI people in prison, and publish a monthly newsletter to facilitate coordination among TGI people organizing in prison. We also educate the public about the failures of the Prison Industrial Complex, and work with our allies to build community-based alternatives to have real safety in our lives. We are currently developing a political education and skills-building internship program for formerly imprisoned transgender women of color. All our organizing and base-building work is led by and for TGI people inside and out of prison.

Building A Movement

Transforming Justice Coalition

We are one of the key sponsors of the national Transforming Justice Coalition, made up of organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting the leadership of former and current TGI prisoners. Following the groundbreaking Transforming Justice conference in 2007, this coalition will help build a national movement for short-term and long-term solutions to the human rights crisis facing transgender and gender variant communities today. Visit http://www.transformingjustice.org for more information.