Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Today Is Transgender Day Of Remembrance


Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

This is a day to pause and reflect on anti-transgender violence around the world.

According to The Trans Murder Monitoring research project, between the 1st of October 2017 and September 30, 2018, 369 cases of reported murders of transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people have been reported.

That represents an increase of 44 deaths compared to 2017 and 74 more cases than in 2016.

Brazil (167 murders) and Mexico (71) lead in violence against trans people.

In the United States, there have been 28 murders of transgender people in the past 12 months, up from 25 the previous year. And that figure represents only the deaths we know of.


The rise in violence against trans people comes as the Trump administration continues its assault on protections for trans Americans.

In October, the New York Times reported that Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Department plans to redefine transgender people out of existence.

Early in Trump's time in office he announced he plans on banning transgender Americans from serving in the U.S. military.

Additionally, the Department of Education reversed an Obama-era policy that held trans students should be allowed ot use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

TDOR is a day not only to mourn those we've lost and celebrate the lives they lived, but also bring awareness to the daily struggles and dangers that trans and gender non-conforming people face around the world on a daily basis.

The video below was released last year by Shape History who asked trans youth about the labels put on them by society.

Take a listen to these trans young people about their feelings on how they are perceived and how they'd like to be seen:



Gwendolyn Ann Smith founded Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1999 as a way to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who was brutally murdered.

In a statement to GLAAD, Smith writes that the observance “seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence.”

“I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost,” she continues. “With so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice."

You can participate by attending a vigil on November 20 to honor all those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence this year.

Vigils are typically hosted by local transgender advocates or LGBT organizations, and held at community centers, parks, places of worship and other venues. The vigil often involves reading a list of the names of those who died that year.

Check out a full list of events here.

Hillary Clinton and other leaders expressed their thoughts on trans violence via Twitter.










You can find more about this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance at the hashtag #TDOR on Twitter here. 


You can find more about this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance at the hashtag #TDOR on Twitter here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.