Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil organizers say transphobia is still a big issue in Sask.

Saskatchewan LGBTQ community members and organizations are organizing vigils across the province to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance, held on Saturday.

It's an annual international day of mourning and memorial for transgender people who were killed in the past year. The Trans Murder Monitoring project, run by advocacy network Transgender Europe, has recorded 375 murders worldwide between October 2020 and September — making 2021 the deadliest year for trans and gender-diverse people.

The count marked a seven per cent increase from the 2020 update, which was already a six per cent  increase from the 2019 update of their project. While no Canadians were recorded this year, in 2020, two trans Canadians were on the list.  

Rene Clarke, the coordinator at pride centre in University of Saskatchewan, said the actual numbers are likely even higher as many hate crimes go unreported. The pride centre organized a Friday afternoon vigil on-campus to mourn the losses along with other trans folks at the university.

Clarke said trans folks in the province, who are equal in number as "people with red hair," continue to face transphobia.

"The median age for transgender people is usually around age 30 because we are far more likely to be killed due to hate crimes and transphobia. We really don't get to live very long," they said.

"So, it's really important that we gather and say their names and as a community try to heal. It's so painful."

The 24-year-old has been attending these vigils since 2019 and said that each vigil, they and many other trans attendees break down. 

Clarke said as more trans individuals come out, they are more vulnerable to hate crimes. They personally have experienced transphobia and said they were "lucky to be not alone that day".

"It's heartbreaking, horrifying and disgusting. It makes me fear for my life a lot. Because we are a new thing in the Western society, even when we are not, it's hard for people to just accept us at face value," they said.

At the pride centre, they have had many volunteers and attendees recounting hate crimes or incidents of transphobia. Clarke said trans people of color and Two-Spirit individuals are at a "higher risk".

"There's a lot of stigma-based barriers that get in the way of people accessing trans health care," Clarke said.

"Whenever I go into the emergency room, I don't even tell them that I'm trans because I don't want a nurse, who may have a prejudice against trans people, to do something to hurt me."

Jaycen Jakubowski, a first-year student of computer science at University of Saskatchewan, has experienced workplace harassment at his last two jobs due to his identity.