JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX continues its Pride Month celebration by highlighting local groups that support Jacksonville’s unique and vibrant LGBTQ+ community, and today, the focus is on the Transgender Awareness Project (TAP), founded in Jacksonville by Paige Mahogany Parks.
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The Transgender Awareness Project works to educate the broader public about the diverse challenges faced by transgender individuals, including discrimination, violence and social stigma.
“TAP works to replace disrespect, discrimination, and violence with empathy, opportunity, and justice,” the organization says about its mission on its website.
It also posted the following statistics to further showcase why its work is essential to the transgender community:
- Nearly half (46%) of respondents were verbally harassed in the past year because of being transgender.
- Nearly one in ten (9%) respondents were physically attacked in the past year because of being transgender.
- Nearly half (47%) of respondents were sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime, and one in ten (10%) were sexually assaulted in the past year.
- In communities of color, these numbers are higher: 53% of Black respondents were sexually assaulted in their lifetime, and 13% were sexually assaulted in the last year.
- 72% of respondents who have done sex work, 65% of respondents who have experienced homelessness, and 61% of respondents with disabilities reported being sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
- More than half (54%) experienced some form of intimate partner violence, including acts involving coercive control and physical harm.
Through Pride marches, public forums and educational workshops, TAP strives to promote greater acceptance and equality for transgender people.
One of its key programs, Operation ID, helps individuals obtain legal name changes at no cost.
TAP also offers financial assistance programs, advocates for a public safety committee, and organizes community drop-offs to collect and distribute essential items like clothing and hygiene products for those in need.