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Trans Woman Among Nation's Top Crime Fighters

Trans Woman Among Nation's Top Crime Fighters

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Victoria Cruz was just honored by the Justice Department for her work with abuse survivors.

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A victory for transgender and domestic violence advocates came this week when the Justice Department named Victoria Cruz (and 11 others) as the nation's top crime fighters, according to Simone Weichselbaum of the New York Daily News.

Cruz, a transgender Latina from Red Hook, New York, and the other activists were noted for turning "their own experiences into a positive force for sweeping change," said Attorney General Eric Holder. Cruz was honored at Washington D.C's National National Crime Victims' Service Awards ceremony last week.

Cruz, now 66, told Weichselbaum she had been out since grade school, long before she transitioned. "I always knew that I was different," Cruz said. "When I was in middle school they would call me 'queer.'"

After being in an abusive relationship and anti-trans harassment on the job, Cruz became an advocate for sexual and physical abuse survivors and is now a senior domestic violence counselor New York City Anti-Violence Project.

"I am passionate about the work that I do," Cruz told the Daily News. "People are coming out at a younger age. And putting themselves at risk. This award is making the invincible, visible."

Read more about Cruz and the other honorees at the New York Daily News.

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Diane Anderson-Minshall

Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.
Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.