Working Group on Civil and Human Rights of Transgender and Non-Binary People Interchange Reports
The text of recent Interchange reports are below, with the most recently received at the top and older reports below. To jump to a particular report, simply click the year listed below.
| Winter Editions | Spring Editions | Fall Editions |
|---|---|---|
| Winter 2019 |
Winter 2019 Interchange
At Annual Session 2018, BYM approved a minute recognizing that of God in our non-binary and transgender brothers and sisters, celebrating their presence in our Meetings, and making a commitment to support them and to advocate for their human and civil rights in the broader world.
The Peace and Social Concerns Committee was asked to suggest steps that Meetings can take in support of the minute. The Yearly Meeting agreed that a Working Group on Transgender and Non-Binary Concerns be formed under the care of Peace and Social Concerns. The Working Group first got together in October.
The rights of non-binary and transgender individuals are far from secure. After signs of progress in past years, the protection of the basic human rights of marginalized people abruptly became much more difficult in the United States with the inauguration of the Trump administration. The administration has proposed policies that would allow transgender individuals to serve in the armed forces only if they serve as their biological sex (also known as “gender assigned at birth”) and that federal prisons essentially ignore the declared gender identity of inmates. The administration also has revoked federal support of transgender individuals in schools and places of employment, and has refused to recognize the authentic gender identity of those transgender persons seeking gender-specific federal jobs. These policies do not reflect the current scientific and medical thinking regarding gender, nor do they conform to the International Declaration of Human Rights. And they are simply inhumane.
The Working Group feels that the Meetings have a role to assist and support transgender and non-binary people, including influencing changes to our national laws. We are working to pull together resources that Meetings can use to inform this work, but we need more help. Specifically, we need broader representation from Meetings. Expressions of interest can be sent to transgender@bym-rsf.org.
2017 Annual Report
No report received.
2016 Report
No report received.
2015 Report
No report received.
