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2SLGBTQ+ Community Resources
The City of Charlottesville takes its commitment to JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) seriously. We want to ensure that all employees and community members feel safe and welcomed and that they belong. The City itself provides several programs and services to the LGBTQIA+
The Deputy City Manager for Social Equity, who serves as the LGBTQ+ liaison to the City and the Office for Social Equity, works closely with our Office of Human Rights, which receives individual complaints of discrimination, conducts community outreach, and provides staff support to the Human Rights Commission.
The City’s Office of Human Rights helps support the City’s Human Rights Ordinance, which defines how human rights are protected in Charlottesville per state and federal law. The Ordinance states that unlawful discrimination occurs when an individual is denied an opportunity to engage in a restricted activity because of their membership or perceived membership in a particular group or identity. The ordinance focuses on five protected activities: credit, employment, housing, private education, and public accommodation. An individual gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, race, sex, sexual orientation, color, disability, age, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, religion, and veteran status are all protected. With housing issues, an individual is also protected by the following additional classes: elderliness, source of funds, and familial status.
Charlottesville also worked to codify our intolerance for youth bullying through the Policy Prohibiting Bullying in all Youth Serving City Services, Activities, Programs, & Facilities which the Office of Social Equity spearheaded in partnership with the Office of Human Rights, Department of Human Services, Parks & Recreation, and the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (JMRL) System that serves City residents.
While intolerance and discrimination will still create barriers to fair, just, and equitable access and opportunities for 2SLGBTQA+ community members, the City remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering change and belonging.
Municipal Equity Index Score
The National Human Rights Campaign (HRC) launched the Municipal Equity Index (MEI) [hyperlink: https://www.hrc.org/resources/municipal-equality-index] as a way to examine how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are for LGBTQ+ people who live and work there. The organization reviews the policies, laws, and services of 506 municipalities across the nation and considers 100 to be a perfect score. However, municipalities can receive flex points, allowing for a potential raw score of up to 122. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality.
In the Commonwealth, HRC scored 11 cities in Virginia. You can find a link to every city they review here and Charlottesville’s Scorecard here. Charlottesville’s raw score was 107, thus earning a perfect score and continuing to improve our score from 89 in 2020 to now. Nationwide, 130 cities cored a 100 or better, and the average score was 72.
The City of Charlottesville is proud to have achieved a perfect score in the 2024 Municipal Equity Index for the first time!
Key Terms
The City of Charlottesville understands that language is essential, so we have provided a few key definitions that we use to help us do our work. (Source: San Diego State University 2SLGBTQIA+ Glossary)
An expansion of the commonly used LGBT acronym to stand for Two-Spirit (2S), Lesbian (L), Gay (G), Bisexual (B), Transgender (T), Queer or Questioning (Q), Intersex (I), Asexual (A), used to indicate the vast spectrum of sexual orientations, romantic orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions a person may hold over their lifetime (+). Two-Spirit is placed at the beginning of the 2SLGBTQIA+ acronym to acknowledge that Native people and Native identities came before any concept of the Western-defined identities in the rest of the acronym. Moreover, it brings awareness to the racism and violence Native people have faced and continue to face.
A term used to describe individuals who do not identify with traditional gender roles and also not confined to one gender narrative or experience.
A broad term that describes someone whose gender expression does not align with traditional gender norms. May be used instead of trans, when the gender identity of the person is not known; for example, if the person is a historic figure.
A term used to describe who an individual is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to.
Toward whom a person’s sexual desires and drives are oriented – toward only women, or only men, or nobody, or irrespective of gender. It is separate and independent from a person’s gender identity. It can be fluid over time. The identity a person uses to describe their sexual orientation may not reflect their sexual behaviors.
Encompasses many identities. A moniker, not a monolith, that connects the concepts of gender and sexuality in Indigenous communities while resisting the division between sexuality, gender, and spirituality as a result of colonization. Only Indigenous individuals can claim and use this term.