Wed Nov 20 18:50:00 UTC 2024: **Transgender Day of Remembrance Highlights Ongoing Violence Against Transgender Community**
**Washington, D.C. –** November 20th marks the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), a somber occasion dedicated to remembering transgender individuals who have lost their lives to violence. This year’s observance comes amidst growing concerns about escalating threats against the transgender community.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reported at least 36 transgender and gender-expansive people were victims of fatal violence in the past year, a slight increase from the previous year. Black transgender women constituted half of the victims, highlighting disproportionate risks within the community. The youngest victim was a 14-year-old. Firearms were involved in two-thirds of the deaths, and nearly a third of the killings involved intimate partners, friends, or family members. HRC acknowledges the actual number is likely higher due to underreporting and misidentification.
TDoR, established in 1999 to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman murdered in Massachusetts, serves as the culmination of Transgender Awareness Week. The day is marked by candlelight vigils, memorials, and other events worldwide. The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that 1.6 million U.S. adults identify as transgender, and they are disproportionately vulnerable to violence.
This year’s remembrance follows a year of setbacks for transgender rights. Numerous state-level legislative actions, particularly in Republican-led states, have restricted access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The Supreme Court is set to hear a case challenging Tennessee’s ban on such care. Advocates express fears that this hostile political climate could further endanger transgender individuals and contribute to rising violence.
First Piper 