Here in Canada, we tend to think of ourselves as claiming a sort of moral high ground when it comes to social justice issues. We think of ourselves as liberated, fair, and anti-oppression; we look down on other countries for their medieval legislature, patting ourselves on the back for being so good, so forward-thinking, so tolerant. And then, every once in a while, an event occurs that proves just how awful and backwards we really are.
On Monday morning, 25-year-old British comedian Avery Edison tried to enter Canada through Toronto's Pearson International Airport, hoping to visit her partner and pick up a few of the possessions she had left behind after moving home to England. Knowing that she had previously overstayed her student visa, she travelled on a non-refundable return ticket and brought with her a copy of her London lease -- unfortunately, this was not good enough. She was denied entry and detained by Canadian immigration officials, a fact which she admitted was her own fault:
This is 100% my fault, but it still sucks. I feel so helpless and trapped.
-- Avery Edison (@aedison) February 11, 2014
It was while she was being interviewed by an Immigrations Canada officer that things started to go from being unfortunately inconvenient to nightmarish. Edison, who is trans* and whose passport lists her gender as female, noticed that the officer kept switching between masculine and feminine pronouns when discussing her over the phone. She then overheard him say that he had "one male for pickup" [emphasis my own]. She was told that she would be placed in a solitary cell due to her status as a pre-operative male-to-female, a fact that didn't exactly thrill her but which she found unsurprising.
Received word I may be kept in solitary because I am pre-operative MTF. Predictable, but still fucking terrifying.
-- Avery Edison (@aedison) February 11, 2014
She asked if she could go home to England, but was told that was not a possibility.
She then had to submit to an examination by a nurse to determine where she would be sent. It was decided that because of her male genitalia, she would have to go to Maplehurst Correctional Complex, an all-male facility. This, in spite of the fact that her passport lists her as female. This, in spite of the fact that there is a trans* unit at the nearby Vanier Centre for Women. This, in spite of the fact of the high rate of violence against trans* folks in the general population, let alone the prison population.
Fuck.
And this is where I lose it. I mean, really lose it. I lose everything -- my mind, my temper, my faith in humanity. What the fuck kind of government do we have in this country? How can a so-called progressive population stand the fact that we still have people in charge who think that you can tell someone's gender based on a physical examination? How can anyone, anyone think that it's all right to put a person in such a potentially harmful, violent situation? How is this happening in Canada, in this day and age, with all of our so-called tolerant and liberal values?
Before you start to roll your eyes at all of this, before you make any proclamations that start out with, "well, of course I'm sympathetic, but -," imagine how humiliating it would be to be constantly questioned about your professed gender, even though you have official government documentation to back you up. Imagine how horrific it would be to be asked to submit to a physical exam to have your gender, which you have already disclosed and which is written on your passport, determined. Imagine how frightening it would be to be sent to a facility where you stand a high chance of suffering physical, emotional, verbal and, of course, sexual abuse.
Now imagine if that fear was something that you lived with, on one level or another, every day of your life. You would have to live your life always walking on a knife's edge, never sure just how much information you can relay to any given person -- information that any cisgender person would give out without thinking twice. You would spend your days hoping that people can view you as who you are, but are never surprised when they call you by the wrong name or the wrong pronoun. You would have to answer all of the same questions, personal, prying, awful questions, over and over and over, because people just don't want to get it. All of this because you committed the great and horrible crime of having a gender that does not align with the genitalia you were born with.
Edison is currently being held at Maplehurst, and will be there until at least Monday. Her partner, Romy Sugden, has been able to visit her, and reports that the guards have continued to misgender her. According to Sugden, one staff member, after being corrected repeatedly on Edison's gender, said, "I don't care, she's a man to me." A friend of Edison's took a picture of this staff member in order to file a report, but was forced to delete the picture.
You would think that all of this would be illegal here in progressive Canada, but it's not. According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission,
Transgendered people may be placed with those of the sex with which they do not identify.
Take a moment to re-read that, and really let it sink it. Transgender [not transgendered -- the law doesn't even bother to get the term right] people may be placed with those of the sex with which they do not identify. This is government-speak for we do not give a shit about your professed gender, our only interest is in punishing you whatever way possible. This is very, very fucked up.
This has to change. Action has to be taken, not just for Avery Edison's sake, but for the sake of all trans* prisoners and detainees. The personal indignity is too high and the threat of violence is too great for us to be able to look the other way. This is something that has to happen now.
If you are in Toronto, there will be a rally held here on Saturday, February 15. You can find the details here.
Other things you can do:
- You can call Goran Vragovic, the Canadian Border Services Agency Director General, at 905 803 5590 and request Avery Edison's release
- You can send support to NDP members, including NDP MPs Randall Garrison and Peggy Nash, who are working to help Edison in particular and to change the discriminatory laws in general.
- You can check out the #freeavery hashtag on twitter
- You can share this post, or any other post about Avery Edison, and let everyone know what's happening
- You can do anything within your power to make this a more visible issue
Because this issue is really, really important.
UPDATE: Edison's partner just announced that she will be transferred to a women's prison, either tonight or tomorrow:
Apparently she will be moved to a women's prison/facility either tonight or tomorrow AM. Unfortunately, her visitor quota is up for the wk..-- rahrah (@rahrahtempleton) February 11, 2014
However, the hearing is set for tomorrow and Edison is still in need of a lawyer:
Hearing is set for tomorrow AM, and currently trying to either raise $ for lawyer or find someone to take on her case pro bono.
-- rahrah (@rahrahtempleton) February 11, 2014
Sources are now confirming that Edison was moved to the Vanier Centre for Women.
I will keep you updated on the situation, and let you know how and where donations can be made.
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