Get Yr Rights: A National Know Your Rights Network for LGBTQ Youth (GYR) went live earlier today, providing a platform for LGBTQ youth in the struggle to end policing and criminalization to share Know Your Rights (KYR) information, materials and strategies across the world.

Get Yr Rights was born out of conversations at the Allied Media Conference in 2012 between groups like Streetwise and Safe in New York, and BreakOUT!, a New Orleans group that’s been making headlines with their new kick-ass report “We Deserve Better: A Report on Policing in New Orleans By and For Queer and Trans Youth of Color.”

According to the GYR Facebook page,

“[The site is] chock full of ‘know your rights’ information specifically tailored to the experiences of LGBTQ youth and rooted in their realities and expertise. The site will be a source for news from all Network members on the front lines of the struggle to end the criminalization of LGBTQ youth!”

GYR kicks off with over thirty LGBTQ Youth or youth-serving member organizations, and the site features a map of its members, resources and policies, so you can find information or resources near your community, or submit your own additions. A GYR curriculum and toolkit are coming soon.

via The Native Youth Sexual Health Network Facebook

Before the site launch, GYR organized on Facebook and Twitter. They led campaigns and conversations focusing on policing and criminalization in relation to Ferguson and National Coming Out Day. They’ve also promoted events and campaigns run by Network members, like a conversation on NCOD held by the Native Youth Sexual Health Network on how Two Spirit and Indigenous LGBTTQQIA youth “are ‘coming out’ in the face of policing and criminalization.” Having a national network helps expand the reach and influence of organizations that are doing vital work, and helps organizations collaborate and learn from each other.

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