(Note: headline and story updated as of February 28--headline changed from "transgender man" to "transgender woman." See latest update at the end of this story.)
A San Antonio police officer is in jail and accused of sexually assaulting a “transgender man,” according to WOIA.com.
Based on the initial information available, it would appear that the victim is a trans man (assigned female at birth, transitioned to male). However, because news reports often fail to use correct pronouns and gender references, there is always the possibility that the victim is a trans woman.
According to the report, the victim alleges that Officer Craig Nash picked him her up on the morning of February 25, handcuffed him her, told him her to lie down in the back of the car, then drove him her to another location and sexually assaulted him her before dropping him her off.
There was enough evidence, including GPS information that linked Nash’s car to the reported scene of the crime and the victim’s identification of Nash in a lineup, to arrest Nash, who is currently being held on a bond of over $25,000 and charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of official oppression.
A major concern of the transgender community is treatment by police officers, who are employed to protect all citizens. At a recent town hall meeting sponsored by the Mayor’s GLBT Commission in Denver, Colo., and focusing on violence in the trans community, some of the attendees expressed concerns about reporting assaults to police for fear of facing discrimination or additional mistreatment.
The Denver Police Department has created a special unit to handle bias-motivated crimes, including crimes against trans people. Members of the unit were present at the meeting to hear community concerns and answer questions. Colorado has a hate-crimes law that covers gender identity.
Concerns about interactions with police can make trans people reluctant to report crimes against them, resulting in inaccurate statistics regarding violence and other bias-motivated crimes in the trans community. These same concerns can make trans people hesitate to come forward as witnesses to other crimes.
It benefits police departments in many ways to initiate sensitivity training for officers and positive interactions with their local trans community.
(Update: a new story from My San Antonio News appears to indicate that the individual is a trans woman and that the media is using incorrect pronouns. However, it's still a little difficult to determine what is actually happening. Hopefully, this will be clarified soon.)
(Latest update as of February 28: the victim is, in fact, a trans woman and was misidentified by San Antonio media.)
Comments
From the way it looks to me, My San Antonio News appears to be confused, but I don't know. Hopefully this can be sorted out soon.
Nice to know that the authorities are already acting on this issue.
Hi Matt. There is a lot of confusion about the identity of the victim in this case. I've written about it on my trans media blog: skip the makeup.
skipthemakeup(dot)blogspot(dot)com/
Just to give a hint, San Antonio media isn't especially enlightened when it comes to trans identities.
After reading all articles related to this incident, it's a clear case of transphobia the use of male pronouns. It is said that the police, and i quote "identified the alleged victim as transgendered, a spokeswoman could not confirm if the complainant had undergone male-to-female sex reassignment." so they knew she was transgender and they use male pronouns only because they were not sure if she had sex reassignement. By doing so they were stating that if she still has male genitalia she is in fact a man, regardless of her gender identity. That's transphobia, not a minor misidentification.
Well would your panties/boxers get bunched up if that individual were refered to as "IT"?
nomad--"It" is not an acceptable term to use for any human being, so that would definitely not be appropriate. The media simply needs to follow Associated Press (AP) guidelines and they will have no trouble.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!