Recently, America's largest life and health insurer decided it would make a public apology and provide restitution payments for profits it made insuring slaves in this country 150 years ago. Shortly after this event took place I was asked by a client if it were possible for transgender persons to seek relief or restitution for the hardship they have endured over the centuries. Not to play light of a horrible crime against humanity, slavery, transgender persons are also a class of individuals who have been discriminated against, violated and even killed. These acts were not perpetrated against us for the color of our skin, but rather for our challenging the sensibilities and stereotypes of those unlike us. For simply daring to be ourselves.
Transgender folks come from every ethnicity and background.
Similar to slavery, which was an organized American institution, discrimination and violence against transgender persons has been endemic throughout our society. While some of these laws have been repealed, others remain at local government levels. Where such laws no longer exist, an overabundance of societal prejudices are reflected in our written and unwritten healthcare standards, corporate policies, media stereotypes and general attitudes effecting transgender men and women. As a distinct class of persons the probability of gaining restitution from a large corporation or government would be impractical and almost certainly an impossibility. This can be done by seeking redress through individual and small class action petitions in court, or through obtaining relief through government agencies designed to protect individuals from discrimination, or on a simpler level asking to speak with a supervisor or manager when one is not treated correctly.