Local
D.C. youth report being forced into prostitution
Civil rights panel holds hearing on LGBT sex trafficking
Ruby Corado (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Dany, who asked the Washington Blade not to use his last name, came to Virginia from Mexico in 2009 to escape the discrimination and abuse he said he suffered from his classmates and family members because he is gay. Those whom he said kidnapped him after he ran away from the school to which his parents had sent him as a child threatened to kill him because of his sexual orientation.
Dany moved to D.C. last year, but the woman with whom he was living soon told him the money he gave her to live in her home was not enough to pay for food and rent. He said that his landlord forced him to prostitute himself. He made the revelation during a District of Columbia State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hearing on trafficking of LGBT youth in Northwest Washington on Tuesday. Dany told the Blade in a follow-up interview she threatened to report him as an undocumented immigrant if he refused.
“I had no guidance because I was very fearful,” he told the commissioners. “I had no direction on what to do.”
A report the State Department issued in June said up to 27 million people around the world are currently victims of labor and sex trafficking. Up to an estimated 300,000 people in the United States are currently involved with human trafficking.
The Polaris Project, an organization that combats human trafficking, estimates 100,000 children are currently in the sex trade in the U.S. The group’s National Human Trafficking Hotline has also received more than 80,000 calls from people who want to report cases as well as victims seeking support.
Those who testified at the hearing said homophobia and transphobia only exacerbate the problem of human trafficking among LGBT youth.
Andrea Powell, executive director of FAIR Girls, an organization that advocates on behalf of exploited girls and young women in the D.C. metropolitan area and elsewhere, highlighted the case of a 17-year-old transgender teenager from Maryland she said had recently been arrested for solicitation.
Powell said the teen has run away 62 times because of the abuse she said she suffered in the foster care system in which she has lived since birth. She said the teen’s boyfriend who is in his early 40s sometimes allows her to live with him in “exchange for sex.” Powell said he has also asked his girlfriend to have sex with others to help him pay the rent.
“The situation was pretty normal to her,” Powell said. “She would prefer not to have sex for money. She really preferred not to have sex with her boyfriend, but she did not want to be sent back to foster care and saw this as the best case scenario.”
A report the Williams Institute published last year indicates 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT. Nearly 70 percent of service providers who responded to the survey cited family rejection as a major contributing factor to homelessness among this population.
Statistics from the National Coalition for the Homeless in 2009 indicate LGBT youth are more susceptible to victimization and mental health problems once they become homeless. The group said nearly 60 percent of homeless LGBT youth have been sexually assaulted, compared to roughly a third of their heterosexual counterparts. The National Coalition for the Homeless also found homeless LGBT youth are 7.4 times more likely to become a victim of sexual violence than those who are straight.
One person who requested anonymity told the committee a man who lived with his family in Honduras when he was a child began to abuse him because he is gay. He said his family kicked him out of the house after he told local authorities the man impregnated his 13-year-old sister.
The witness told the committee he began selling drugs to make money, but subsequently turned to prostitution. He said the person with whom he currently lives threatens to tell his family about what he is doing.
“This person is kind of a bad person to me,” he told the committee. “He has made me do stuff that I don’t want to do.”
The Polaris Project, the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are among the members of the D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force that formed in 2004 to increase the amount of trafficker prosecutions while identifying and expanding services to victims. It also receives grants from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance to combat the issue.
Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado, who told commissioners during the hearing she had to work four jobs to pay the family with whom she lived after she moved to the U.S. from her native El Salvador in 1986, said homophobic and transphobic attitudes among some older D.C. police officers remain a barrier to LGBT trafficking victims. She said the situation has begun to improve through the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.
“There are open-minded law enforcement out there,” D.C. Police Det. Steven Schwalm told commissioners during his testimony. “If you’re being exploited, by all means give us a call. We’re here to help.”
Powell said another potential solution is to work with law enforcement officials to refer trafficking victims to services under so-called safe harbor laws as opposed to placing them under arrest for solicitation and other crimes.
“Incarceration and detention are not safety planning options,” she said. “They’re not our best case scenarios.”
As for Dany, he began volunteering at Casa Ruby after he said four men beat him up because he is gay last December as he left his apartment to see his psychologist. He has a new place to live and has applied for a U visa that allows crime victims to live in the U.S.
Dany, now 23, told the Blade he no longer prostitutes himself.
“If my story is going to help someone, I’m going to tell it,” he said.
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s hotline is (888) 373-7888 or 233733 via text message.
District of Columbia
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
Mayor, Council members join LGBTQ activists in 4th annual event
Members of the D.C. Council joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and a crowd of LGBTQ activists and supporters on June 1 for the city’s fourth annual LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony held outside the John A. Wilson Building, which serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Since its inception four years ago by Mayor Bowser, the event has served as the official kickoff of D.C. Pride month, which culminates this year with the annual Capital Pride Parade on June 20 and Pride festival on June 21, which takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
“As I like to say, we’re celebrating Pride month in the gayest city in the world,” Bowser told a crowd that included city officials and Council members joining her on the front steps of the Wilson Building.
“Fifty-one years of Pride in the future 51st state,” she said, adding, “And both movements are rooted in the same belief – every person deserves to be seen, heard, and fully represented.”
Among those who spoke at the event in addition to Bowser were Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb; and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
“This year is special,” Bowles told the gathering. “It’s special because we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs,” he said. “For two decades this office has helped make Washington, D.C. one of the most welcoming and affirming cities in the world.”
He added, “We have expanded LGBTQ services across agencies, invested millions of dollars into community organizations, championing culturally competent care and training, supporting LGBTQ supportive businesses and workers and celebrated our history.”
Schwalb said his Office of the D.C. Attorney General continues to safeguard the city’s laws protecting residents against discrimination but expressed concern about “high court” rulings that he said continue to roll back civil rights, voting rights, and human rights.
He said, “We’re seeing cases limiting medical care for transgender youth while at the same time green lighting so-called conversion therapy.” He pointed to cases or policies “excluding transgender girls from participating in sports and excluding story books with LGBTQ characters from our school libraries.”
He said his office is committed to protecting all residents, including LGBTQ residents, from all forms of discrimination. “And that includes the right to be our authentic selves, to freely express our identities and ourselves to be who we are and to love who we love.”
Mendelson, who also expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community and for the upcoming Pride events, said 10 of the Council’s 13 members were attending the Pride flag raising event, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5).
“I’m just here with gratitude,” Parker told the Washington Blade. “There’s a lot to be grateful for and a lot more to fight for,” he said. “And so, raising this flag is a reminder that our government is here to serve all of our residents regardless of how you identify or who you love.”
Shortly after Mendelson spoke, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who is running for mayor in the city’s June 16 primary, arrived at the event, becoming the 11th Council member to turn out for the event.
Among those also attending the event were Ryan Bos and June Crenshaw, the two top officials of the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Bowser, who is not running for re-election this year and will be stepping down as mayor in January 2027, thanked those attending the Pride flag raising event for playing a role in an all-inclusive city.
“We speak with one clear voice – that D.C. is a welcoming city,” she said in her remarks. “But also, we know that our work has been robust, but it is not done. We fly this flag in front of the John A. Wilson Building because it tells a story,” she said.
“It tells a story of a city that takes care of itself,” she added. “And we take care of each other. We are a city that is diverse and welcoming.”
Serving as the event’s master of ceremony and who introduced Bowles as the first speaker was longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot.
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
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