Hello, beloved community:
Back in January 2025, days into the nightmarish current US administration, some in our community voiced concern that, given the churn of the political tides, The Well Project would be forced to alter the focus of our work – namely, to de-emphasize or even stop serving women and others of transgender and nonbinary experience. Doing so has never been on the table for us. Our statement at the time that we will always stand in support of our communities was in part a response to this assumption.
To further assure our communities of our commitment beyond any doubt, we began including the following preamble among the introductory slides when hosting online and in-person presentations:
- We are proud to be a resource that welcomes and focuses on women across the gender spectrum – that means all women who identify as such – as well as all people who can benefit from our materials and support networks
- We not only acknowledge and affirm but celebrate the existence of our community members of trans and nonbinary experience
- The language we use on our website and in our programs reflects this affirmation; our commitment is to grow stronger in this practice and more inclusive in our language
Since January, all-out attacks on trans communities and trans personhood from all branches of the current administration (as outlined in its policy directives before even assuming power) have ballooned. For just one example, more than 1,000 bills have been introduced this year in almost every single US state, and 123 passed and signed into law in 28 states as of this writing, limiting or stripping away trans people's access to healthcare, education, legal recognition, and other crucial aspects of public life. The goal is clear: to exclude trans people from the society they help build and fortify, removing their very "right to have rights," in an attempt to erase their very real existence, presence, and contribution in every region and sector across the globe.
Even in the weeks since we began drafting this statement, the Supreme Court has made it easier to deny trans people passports that reflect who they are (though as of a recent update, it appears that current passports will remain valid until they expire). Access to jobs, healthcare, services, travel, and more are complicated by not having documents that match one's gender identity; furthermore, showing those documents can make a trans person a target of discrimination and even physical violence.
We are also seeing ways that disinformation and lies about trans people are creeping into conversations even within our expansive and intersectional HIV community, fueling a casual dehumanization that we condemn. HIV and intersecting movements represent diverse communities and while we don't all have to agree on everything all the time, the existence of people of trans experience is not an issue up for debate.
We stand strongly against this debasement of our community, at the policy level and by others in the wider community who have bought into extremist lies that challenge unity. Division and dehumanization make us weaker; standing up for one another and highlighting the ways we are all connected makes us stronger. This administration wants to divide us through attacks on multiple fronts (including but not limited to food security, healthcare, and racial, gender, and national identities), so we won't have the energy to recognize that they are the ones forcing unlivable conditions, including the choice between healthcare and food – not trans people, or any other community being cruelly targeted.
Trans people are part of this world, this country, this community, and always have been. We will continue to argue for the existence, humanity, and agency of an entire vital portion of our community for as long as these realities are denied; and we will affirm, celebrate, and protect our siblings' existence in every way we are able for as long as we exist. We will also persist in finding more ways to embody these commitments.
JD Davids, our colleague and a veteran of HIV and other justice movements, has shared a quick list of just a few actions individuals and organizations can take to affirm trans lives and rights, and combat these brutal attempts at erasure. We encourage you to read JD's full post and list, which includes:
- Whenever you see an alert that does not mention trans people, write back saying WHAT ABOUT TRANS PEOPLE?
- Speak up in your families, organizations, networks about the attacks on the humanity of trans people, the drive to criminalize us and paint us as violent, when the reality is that trans people are MUCH more likely to be the victims of violence.
- Reach out to trans beloveds, friends, colleagues, comrades to ask: How are you doing? Is there anything I can help with?
Please follow and get to know the work of some of our partner organizations that are trans led, as well as other trans-led efforts nationally and globally:
- Positively Trans (T+) (Transgender Law Center)
- Arianna's Place / Arianna's Center (Florida and Puerto Rico, US)
- Transgender Strategy Center
- TransLatin@ Coalition
- Trans Lifeline
- Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SnapCo.) (Atlanta, US)
- House of Tulip (New Orleans, US)
- National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition
- IRGT: A Global Network of Trans Women and HIV
- Red Lactrans (South America Region, en español)
- Asia Pacific Transgender Network (Asia Pacific Region)
You can also watch Lambda Legal's "2025 State of Trans Rights" webinar, recorded live on November 18, 2025, to stay up to date on the legal landscape in the US and how to get involved in supporting justice and safety for communities of trans experience.
Now and always, it is an honor and privilege to serve and be comprised of and lift up voices of women across the gender spectrum. Full stop.
