Advocacy for TwoSpirit, Trans, & Gender Diverse Life
Gender Justice League builds, grows, trains, and mobilizes TwoSpirit, Trans, & Gender Diverse (2STGD) communities to address the systemic oppressions we face. We assist 2STGD people with navigating complicated resources and systems, work to build coalitions, draft legislative position statements, coordinate community training, and engage in collective efforts to impact public and private decision-makers in addressing the widespread disparities our communities face.
Demanding Policy Change
Grassroots Organizing
We engage in grassroots organizing to make clear demands for policy change at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as within private organizations, businesses, and educational institutions. By mobilizing TwoSpirit, Trans, and Gender Diverse (2STGD) community members, we amplify our collective power, push for the enforcement of so-called “good” laws (e.g. non-discrimination ordinances), and advocate for measures that facilitate community-based solutions to structural violence. Our organizing efforts are ongoing throughout the year, with an intensified focus during the legislative session, ensuring that Trans voices are heard and that policies reflect the needs and lived experiences of our communities.
Since our inception, GJL has been instrumental in defeating more than 23 anti-Trans bills, including eight during the previous Trump presidency. One of our key victories was the defeat of a proposed bathroom bill in Washington state, which sought to strip away the rights of Trans people to use facilities that align with their gender identity. In addition to blocking harmful legislation, we have worked in coalition to successfully win more than 30 Trans-affirming policies. These include making name and gender marker changes more accessible and affordable, securing a statewide ban on conversion therapy—an achievement that benefits all LGBTQIA+ people—and expanding education about Trans rights.
Impact Litigation
GJL is engaged in impact litigation both as a plaintiff ourselves, and by supporting Trans individuals who are plaintiffs in legal challenges against discriminatory policies. By working closely with national legal organizations such as the ACLU, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign (HCR), National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), and National Women’s Law Center, we help connect Trans people directly impacted by harmful laws with organizations litigating their cases. Through these partnerships, we ensure that our communities have the legal standing necessary to fight for civil rights and challenge injustices in the courtroom.
In response to the Trump administration’s executive orders targeting Trans people, we have worked closely with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office to establish and maintain legal standing in lawsuits challenging these orders. Our organization is already a plaintiff in the legal battle against the executive order barring Trans people from military service, and we are determined to secure both preliminary and permanent injunctions to halt implementation of these harmful policies.
Trans Advocacy Day
Each year during the legislative session we organize Trans Advocacy Day, bringing hundreds of Trans people and our allies to the state capitol where we provide training and the opportunity to meet with elected officials to advocate for policies essential to the well-being and safety of our communities.
At TAD 2025, we brought 200+ Trans people and allies to advocate for safer schools for all youth, access to healthcare, autonomy over our bodies, and other issues important to our communities. One of our proudest moments was receiving a firm commitment from Attorney General Nick Brown’s office that they would file a lawsuit to halt the Trans youth sports ban—a huge win for our community!
Looking for 1-on-1 advocacy?
Our Community Security Program (CSP) advocates offer 1-on-1, peer-based advocacy and support to 2STGD people in accessing resources and services, learning about our legal rights, strategizing ways to navigate service providers, and more.
We regularly support community members in accessing and navigating:
- Shelter and housing
- Gender-affirming healthcare and mental healthcare
- Legal name and gender change processes
- And more!
Our Advocacy Goals
Reduce State Harm & Violence
We define “state violence” as specific acts of government agencies, law enforcement, or legislature that criminalize 2STGD people or fail to protect our human rights. We aim to collaborate with policymakers and allies to reduce state violence against 2STGD people with the following strategies:
- Reduce policing and imprisonment of our communities by advocating for abolitionist and community-based alternatives.
- Reduce our exclusion from healthcare and state-funded programs.
- Work to make it easier to file and prove claims of discrimination with the Human Rights Commission, City of Seattle Civil Rights Office, and similar agencies and programs offering civil rights protections.
- Work to remove cost and need to see a judge for legal processing, name changes, and gender marker changes.
- Engage in collaborative direct action organizing to end the Prison Industrial Complex.
Increase Access to Safe, Affirming, Affordable Healthcare
- Increase access to housing, shelter, and public accommodations.
- Advocate with public and private entities to increase insurance coverage for gender-affirming healthcare—including any care deemed medically necessary by 2STGD people’s health providers.
- Improve legal and medical interactions by providing education, demanding enforcement of non-discrimination laws, and holding providers accountable when they discriminate against 2STGD people.
- Educate doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare agencies on issues facing 2STGD people in medical settings, and how to provide quality care.
- Encourage doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare agencies to support ICATH (Informed Consent for Access to Trans Health).
- Establish a network of providers who are trained and designated as safe providers for 2STGD people.
Increase Sustainable Employment for 2STGD People
- Work with job and vocational training programs to increase their capacity to serve 2STGD people. This includes broadening “gender-restricted” job training programs to be open to people who do not fit their rigid gender definitions.
- Educate local business leaders about the alarming rates of poverty and unemployment in trans communities. We encourage and facilitate community dialogue about the severe problems of unemployment, homelessness, and poverty affecting all 2STGD people.
- Collaborate with local organizations to develop/adapt a training handbook for Human Resource Departments on 2STGD people in the workplace. Having a non-discrimination law is not enough! We work to provide education and resources to employers, human resource professionals, universities, colleges, and schools to understand how to implement non-discrimination laws fairly and effectively.