LGBTQ+ COMMUNITIES
New York City is home to more LGBTQ+ people than any other city in the country. For the Manhattan DA’s Office to enhance trust with and support for this diverse community, LGBTQ+ voices and perspectives must be consulted extensively on policy decisions, prioritized in recruiting and hiring, and included in community outreach.
To foster a strong relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, Lucy will:
Be accessible and responsive by opening new channels of communication. Lucy will create an expansive and inclusive LGBTQ Advisory Board, including internal personnel and community members, to make the Office more responsive to the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. Lucy will meet directly — often within the community — with the Advisory Board and other community members on a consistent basis. Lucy pledges to be accessible and responsive to the needs and concerns of the LGBTQ+ community.
Build trust with the LGBTQ+ community. For a variety of reasons, many LGBTQ+ people feel more comfortable reporting crimes against them to community organizations, rather than law enforcement. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community find interactions with law enforcement at all levels dehumanizing and don’t even feel safe serving jury duty. With the input of LGBTQ+ community organizations, Lucy will train all Office staff to be sensitive to and respectful of the experiences and concerns of LGBTQ+ community members, so that LGBTQ+ crime victims can feel comfortable reporting crimes, and LGBTQ+ community members, including witnesses and prospective jurors, can feel comfortable interacting with the District Attorney’s Office. This training will incorporate first-hand experiences of LGBTQ+ community members harmed by the system.
Hold the police accountable because members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to feel safe at home and in the streets. Police harassment undermines safety and is unacceptable. Lucy will take all allegations of police misconduct seriously, will investigate them, and will both hold police officers accountable for their conduct as well as be accountable to the public herself.
Focus on crimes against the LGBTQ+ community that are so unfortunately common, disproportionately killing trans women of color — 2020 has been the deadliest year on record for the transgender community. Lucy will work with local community organizations to better understand and appropriately address crimes against the LGBTQ+ community. She will treat hate crimes as hate crimes.
Work to expunge and seal cases prosecuted under the recently repealed “Walking While Trans Ban.” Lucy believes we must eliminate this vaguely worded law that criminalizes “loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense,” and regularly results in discrimination against LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Transgender people, particularly transgender women of color, are some of the most frequent targets of this criminal provision. These women are also among the most vulnerable New Yorkers, and instead of providing them the same freedoms and protections others enjoy, the current system targets them. Until the law is repealed, Lucy will decline to prosecute cases brought under the provision.
Decriminalize sex work and decline to prosecute sex work cases involving private, consensual sex between adults. The LGBTQ+ community is overrepresented in the sex work industry and is therefore overrepresented in the fallout from the criminalization of sex work. Studies have repeatedly shown that decriminalization of sex work leads to decreased violence and better health outcomes. Lucy opposes the criminalization of sex work, irrespective of the gender identity of the person engaging in the work, and will decline to prosecute sex work cases involving private, consensual sex between adults. Lucy will continue to prosecute trafficking cases and cases involving minors.
Expand restorative justice and enact measures that empower victims of hate crimes and encourage people who commit acts of hate to recognize and repair the harm that they have caused.