What to know about Transgender Day of Remembrance and violence against trans people
CTV
November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which focuses on trans people who have lost their lives because of violence. Here is what to know.
Wednesday is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which focuses on trans people who have lost their lives because of violence. Here is what to know.
Transgender Day of Remembrance is marked every Nov. 20 and began in 1999 to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in Massachusetts.
The day marks the end of Transgender Awareness Week, which is used to raise public knowledge about the transgender community and the issues they face.
The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that 1.6 million people in the U.S. ages 13 and older identify as transgender. And it says transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violence, including rape and assault.
Candlelight vigils, memorials and other events are held to mark the day. The Human Rights Campaign also released its annual report on deaths of transgender people in conjunction with the day.
International Transgender Day of Visibility, which is designed to bring attention to transgender people, is commemorated in March.
At least 36 transgender people have died from violence in the 12 months since the last Day of Remembrance, the Human Rights Campaign said in its annual report. Since 2013, the organization has recorded the deaths from violence of 372 victims who were transgender and gender-expansive — which refers to someone with a more flexible range of gender identity or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system.
