I am honored to be taking part in this year’s Virginia TIES (Transgender Information and Empowerment Summit) advisory committees on Spanish language access, hosted by Equality Virginia (EV). EV is going above and beyond this year to kick off their first-ever all-digital conference and to make sure TIES is accessible to Spanish-speakers of all backgrounds.
Barriers for Spanish-Speakers
Transitioning what is traditionally an in-person conference to a virtual space is a challenge in and of itself, but there are additional barriers to Spanish-speakers. Putting linguistic hurdles aside, monolingual Spanish-speakers face additional challenges relating to technology that can include lack of internet access, not having a device capable of accessing the internet, technological literacy, and even poor cellular service as there is a large Spanish-speaking population in rural Virginia.
Unfortunately, all of these barriers can only further isolate an already isolated community, which is compounded with the intersecting marginalized identities of transgender Spanish-speakers.
Again, I’m honored to be taking part in these discussions. I can’t say it enough! We’re attempting to tackle some difficult obstacles and doing our best to put our minds together to come up with innovative solutions. I can’t say much because a lot of this is still in the works, but I wanted to let everyone know we’re having productive, thought-provoking discussions that will hopefully result in a more inclusive TIES!
For more about TIES, be sure to visit their page on Equality Virginia’s website below!
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