PILLAR AWARDS

In 2018, US Navy Petty Officer Jonathan Stremel and his autistic son were being physically attacked and abused. Stremel went to the Navy’s domestic violence shelter and they turned him away because on the basis of gender. He was told that it would be “inappropriate for a man to be in a shelter” and that male victims do not get the same services as women do. As a result, he and his son were abused again. And again. And again. They turned him and his son away 4 times, never called the police, never called Child Protective Services, and refused to make a report of any kind.

Li Wenliang was a Chinese ophthalmologist known for raising awareness of early COVID-19 infections in Wuhan. On 30 December 2019, Wuhan CDC issued emergency warnings to local hospitals about a number of mysterious "pneumonia" cases discovered in the city in the previous week.