The Phoenix Center at Auraria

Today during Pride Month, we honor Victoria Cruz (she/her), a transgender icon, community activist, survivor advocate, and retired relationship violence counselor. Her life and work have helped shape the fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation and safety.

Raised in Puerto Rico and Brooklyn, New York, Victoria came of age in New York City’s vibrant q***r nightlife scene and built lasting friendships with trailblazing activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

As a Latina transgender woman, Victoria lived through racial discrimination, the criminalization of gender expression, and survived both addiction and sexual violence.

Drawing from those experiences, she dedicated her career to supporting others through her work with the Anti-Violence Project, where she began as a volunteer and later became a senior relationship violence counselor.

Though now retired, Victoria continues to advocate for transgender communities and remains a powerful voice in the movement to end violence against transgender women of color.

Victoria’s legacy reminds us that safety is a liberation issue. Healing happens in community. And every survivor deserves support that affirms their identity, dignity, and humanity.
❤️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Help honor Victoria’s legacy:
📚 Learn LGBTQ+ history.
🤝 Support survivors.
🗣️ Speak out against violence and discrimination.
❤️ Build communities rooted in care and accountability.

Today during Pride Month, we honor Victoria Cruz (she/her), a transgender icon, community activist, survivor advocate, and retired relationship violence counselor. Her life and work have helped shape the fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation and safety.

Raised in Puerto Rico and Brooklyn, New York, Victoria came of age in New York City’s vibrant q***r nightlife scene and built lasting friendships with trailblazing activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.
As a transgender woman, Victoria lived through the criminalization of gender expression and survived both addiction and sexual violence.

Drawing from those experiences, she dedicated her career to supporting others through her work with the Anti-Violence Project, where she began as a volunteer and later became a senior relationship violence counselor.

Though now retired, Victoria continues to advocate for transgender communities and remains a powerful voice in the movement to end violence against transgender women of color.

Victoria’s legacy reminds us that safety is a liberation issue. Healing happens in community. And every survivor deserves support that affirms their identity, dignity, and humanity.
❤️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Help honor Victoria’s legacy:
📚 Learn LGBTQ+ history.
🤝 Support survivors.
🗣️ Speak out against violence and discrimination.
❤️ Build communities rooted in care and accountability.

Have You Seen This?
 
North Carolina is trying to amend their state constitution with a new bill targeting reproductive rights in order to affirm that life begins at fertilization.
 
North Carolina’s state legislature recently proposed a House Bill 1232 which states: “Any person who willfully seeks to destroy the life of another person, by any means, at any stage of life, or succeeds in doing so, shall be held accountable for attempted murder or for first degree murder, respectively.” It does not allow exceptions for r**e, in**st, or the life of the parent.
 
The bill also says that “any person has the right to defend his or her own life or the life of another person, even by the use of deadly force if necessary, from willful destruction by another person.”
 
The bill’s language implies that the law would allow people to kill individuals using birth control methods like contraceptives that prevent the implantation of a fertilized embryo, such as IUDs. Advocates worry that this bill would mean extreme danger and death for people who need healthcare services like abortion, IUDs, and even in vitro fertilization (IVF).
 
Access to abortion and contraception is not just healthcare. For some people, it is safety. Reproductive coercion is a real threat, especially for survivors of IPV.
And when policies restrict or complicate access to long-acting contraception, survivors are the ones most at risk.
 
This is why reproductive healthcare access matters.
Survivors should have access to comprehensive healthcare and deserve bodily autonomy.
 
Survivors deserve:
💜Access to the full range of contraceptive options
💜Confidential reproductive healthcare
💜Protection from reproductive coercion
💜Policies that prioritize safety, autonomy, and bodily integrity
 
Reproductive freedom can be a lifeline for people experiencing abuse.

Do you have questions about accessibility at our Consent Turns Me On! Carnival this Wednesday (4/29)? Check out our accessibility guide for information about accessible entrances, bathrooms, seating, food, and more!

Please send any questions or accommodation requests to [email protected]

Can't wait to see y'all there!

Do you have questions about accessibility for our SAAPM Keynote Speaker Event on Monday? Scroll through our accessibility guide for information about parking, ASL interpretation, accessible all-gender bathrooms and more!

Please send any questions or accommodation requests to [email protected]

Hope to see you all there!