Today—November 20, 2020—marks the 21st Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR).
Also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, TDoR started in 1999 when advocate and writer Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered in 1998 in her apartment in Boston. The vigil also commemorated all transgender people who were lost to suicide and violence and TDoR had since then been an annual observance.
To know more about Rita, the woman whose death sparked an international movement, read here.
Today is #TransDayOfRemembrance. We call on governments around the world to fulfil their responsibilities to act in legally just, morally correct, and ultimately human ways to protect the rights of trans people, during the pandemic and beyond.
— Amnesty International (@amnesty) November 20, 2020
Trans rights are human rights. pic.twitter.com/faMce5Mfwt
Adam4Adam readers, let us mourn, pray, and remember together our transgender brothers and sisters who we have lost to violence this year.Â
According to Forbes, at least 350 transgender people were killed this 2020 so far as opposed to last year’s 331. The youngest victim, they said, was just 15 while their average age was 31. Further, the study revealed that a fifth or 22% of the murdered victims were killed inside their own homes.
In the U.S. alone, Human Rights Campaign reported at least 37 transgender or gender non-conforming people—most of whom were Black and Latinx transgender women—who died violently for being who they are. You can read HRC’s complete report here.
Brazil, on the other hand, reported the most number of transgender people who died from violence (152 in total), accounting for 43% of the global deaths. The number rose to 70% from last year, making Brazil the deadliest country in the world for the transgender community, a new survey showed.
Mexico, on the other hand, is the second deadliest country with 57 transgender people who were murdered because of their gender identity this year.
It's #TDoR2020. A reminder that most of the 350 trans folks wiped out in the past year were trans women who looked like me. Violence against trans people starts with hate speech & disinformation. Continued normalisation of this transphobia means that I continue to live in fear.
— Izzy Jayasinghe (@i_jayas) November 20, 2020
Now, more than ever, it is important that we remember and honor the memory of our transgender brothers and sisters around the world who lost their lives due to acts of anti-transgender violence.
Adam4Adam users who wish to make a charitable donation to a transgender rights organization can choose among the following: Trans Lifeline, Transgender Law Center, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project, to name a few. Â
This #TransDayOfRemembrance we honour those who have lost their lives to transphobic violence. All trans people deserve safety, dignity, joy, and a future where they can thrive without apology. Real allyship is working to make this reality. https://t.co/8jJ0okolCv #TDoR #TDoR2020 pic.twitter.com/jTdDlbN8YC
— stonewalluk (@stonewalluk) November 20, 2020
Trans Day of Remembrance is a day to remember trans people who have been murdered, as well as those who have died by suicide. It's also a day to reflect on the transphobia that led to the deaths of those people.
— Trans Actual (@TransActualUK) November 20, 2020
Today & every day, we ask you to challenge transphobia.#TDOR2020 pic.twitter.com/Oomsj0oypz
To know more about Transgender Day of Remembrance, read here.
Praying for trans and everyone else as they struggle for acceptance and unfortunately survival…. Kudos for the recognition!!!!!!
I wish trans people well. Hopefully, things improve.
I’m totally shock to see no comment and even worse is the lack of support for the transgender population. Count me in as supporter please.
They have by way of trying to be free to be who they know themselves to be; served to pave the way too, warriors in their own right.