Today Is World Transgender Day Of Remembrance Within A Year 331 Trans People Were Murdered
November 20 has been deemed Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) and as people observe it, a new report from Transrespect Versus Transphobia Worldwide reveals 331 trans and gender-diverse people were murded worldwide between October 2018 and September 2019.
Brazil, according to the report, tallied the highest number of killings with 130 reported. Mexico had 63 and the United States reported 30.
Since January of 2008, 3,317 trans and gender-diverse people have been murdered globally.
"Stigma and discrimination against trans and gender-diverse people is real and profound around the world, and are part of a structural and ongoing circle of oppression that keeps us deprived of our basic rights," the report reads. "Trans and gender-diverse people are victims of horrifying hate violence, including extortion, physical and sexual assaults, and murder. In most countries, data on murdered trans and gender-diverse people are not systematically produced and it is impossible to estimate the actual number of cases."
While the numbers are already startling, they don’t include the myriad of cases that go unreported or are not counted in the statistics because they are misgendered by the media. Families of victims also sometimes refuse to acknowledge a victim’s trans status and give incorrect information to authorities.
According to the report, 85 percent of the trans women murdered in the U.S. within the last year were Native American, Latina, or Black.
"Transgender women of color are living in crisis, especially Black transgender women," said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Alphonso David, according to Newsweek. "Every one of these lives cut tragically short reinforces the urgent need for action on all fronts to end this epidemic—from lawmakers and law enforcement, to the media and our communities."
2019 counts the 20th Transgender Day of Remembrance since it’s inception in 1999. According to LGBT Map, only 19 states and Washington, D.C., have hate crime laws that explicitly cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Since 2013, when the Human Rights Campaign Foundation began consistently tracking anti-transgender violence, 82 percent of all fatal violence against trans and gender-nonconforming people took place in a state that had no such law.
