Presentation Title
A Call for an Intersectional Approach to Bias Harassment policies
Degree Name
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies (MA)
Department
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Location
UW Tacoma Tioga Library
Start Date
17-5-2018 5:45 PM
End Date
17-5-2018 5:50 PM
Abstract
During this presentation, I discuss the failures of anti-harassment policies, specifically hate crime polices, in protecting transwomen of color. I also discuss the FBI Hate Crimes statistics, along with self-reported survey results from the National Transgender Survey, the recorded instances of hate on communtiesagainsthate.org, and how these make visible the failures of the current policies, laws, and their enforcement. This presentation then highlights the need for an intersectional approach to harassment policies to better protect individuals from facing bias. Before analyzing the reports, I provide an overview of hate crime policy in the United States. Each state determines what constitutes a hate crime. This is evident in several diverse ways, the most common being the varied types of bias that are protected against, types of offenses that can be considered hate crimes, and the sentencing guidelines that are imposed. States offer protection based on race, religion, ethnicity, and gender; yet as we look at other aspects of identity such as ability, sexual orientation and gender identity, protection becomes more limited across the country. My research shows that without an intersectional approach to policy development, individuals who are supposedly guaranteed protection based on multiple aspects of their identity will continue to fall victim to bias discrimination. This harassment affects them economically, mentally, and limits their ability to fully interact within society.
COinS
A Call for an Intersectional Approach to Bias Harassment policies
UW Tacoma Tioga Library
During this presentation, I discuss the failures of anti-harassment policies, specifically hate crime polices, in protecting transwomen of color. I also discuss the FBI Hate Crimes statistics, along with self-reported survey results from the National Transgender Survey, the recorded instances of hate on communtiesagainsthate.org, and how these make visible the failures of the current policies, laws, and their enforcement. This presentation then highlights the need for an intersectional approach to harassment policies to better protect individuals from facing bias. Before analyzing the reports, I provide an overview of hate crime policy in the United States. Each state determines what constitutes a hate crime. This is evident in several diverse ways, the most common being the varied types of bias that are protected against, types of offenses that can be considered hate crimes, and the sentencing guidelines that are imposed. States offer protection based on race, religion, ethnicity, and gender; yet as we look at other aspects of identity such as ability, sexual orientation and gender identity, protection becomes more limited across the country. My research shows that without an intersectional approach to policy development, individuals who are supposedly guaranteed protection based on multiple aspects of their identity will continue to fall victim to bias discrimination. This harassment affects them economically, mentally, and limits their ability to fully interact within society.