Nine women have sued the Poverello House, one of the largest service providers for homeless people in the Fresno area, for allegedly allowing a transgender resident to sexually harass them during their stay at the nonprofit’s women’s shelter.
Poverello House attorney Cynthia Lawrence denied the allegations, saying no staff member knowingly allowed harassment to occur. She added that the nonprofit provides necessary community services and complies with federal and state laws, including those that require equal access to services for transgender individuals.
Peter Kapetan, the Fresno attorney representing the women, said the lawsuit has a chance to establish far-reaching case law on a variety of transgender issues, including whether shelters should use any sort of guidelines to determine who can stay where in gender-specific facilities.
“It’s a fascinating case because there’s a competing interest between women’s rights and LGBTQ rights,” Kapetan told The Bee in an interview.
The lawsuit says each of the women were staying at Naomi’s House, which is part of the Poverello House’s main campus in downtown Fresno, in November 2017. They were homeless at the time.
An individual identified in the lawsuit as a transgender woman and described as “a male who identifies as female” was also staying at Naomi’s House. That person is not named in court documents and is referred to by initials.
Women staying at the shelter must shower each day, the lawsuit says. Although they shower separately in individual stalls, the women must dress and undress in a common area and place their possessions in crates before and after each shower.
It was during these moments, the lawsuit says, when the transgender woman began making lewd comments to the women, specifically saying things about their breasts and other body features as the group was nude. Some of the women also caught her looking at them through cracks in the shower stalls and while they used the restroom.
The lawsuit claims the alleged harasser showed some of the women nude pictures and videos, including media that showed the transgender woman masturbating.
Kapetan said his clients told Poverello House staff about the harassment, but were told they had to be more accepting of the transgender community.
