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Written by Lisa Neff, Staff writer
Dec 1, 2011
A Transgender Day of Remembrance action in Washington D.C. – Photo: Tyler Keegan
From Milwaukee to Melbourne, civil rights advocates read names and cried tears for the dead on Nov. 20, the International Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Activists joined in the annual observance in dozens of locations on every continent but Antarctica, calling attention to prejudice and remembering the victims of anti-transgender violence. The first remembrance day was held in San Francisco in 1999 in memory of African-American transgender woman Rita Hester, 34, whose slaying in 1998 remains unsolved.
"So many kinds of violence are epidemic for transgender people: hate violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, school bullying and violence by police," said Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "And though certain categories of trans people are more likely to face violence, especially people of color, working class people, young people, women and immigrants, all demographic categories of trans people are more likely to be victims than non-trans people."
TDOR memorials took place in Belfast, Athens, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Manila, Montreal, Rome, Tel Aviv, Vancouver, Warsaw.
U.S. observances – vigils, demonstrations, rallies and town halls – took place in 37 states and the District of Columbia.
In Atlanta, at a ceremony outside the state capitol, activists read the names of 222 transgender people killed in the last year in Colombia, Brazil, Philippines, India, Jamaica, Honduras, Venezuela, Russia, Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Ecuador, Malaysia, Panama, Poland, Guatemala, Indonesia, Pakistan, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Chile and Turkey. At the conclusion of the program, activists released 222 red balloons, the color representing the blood of those whose lives were taken.
In Washington, D.C., on Nov. 17, activists concerned with an escalation of anti-transgender violence, including two slayings last summer, gathered to deliver a series of demands to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier and U.S. District Attorney Ron Machen.
Protesters demanded the district halt efforts to establish permanent "prostitution-free zones," improve efforts to track and report crimes against transgender people, ensure adherence to the D.C. Human Rights Law, train police on transgender issues and improve the clearance rate on anti-transgender crimes, which currently are far less likely to be solved than other crimes.
Then D.C. activists gathered again Nov. 20 for a TDOR memorial at a Metropolitan Community Church. There, the Rev. Abena McCray, pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of D.C., sermonized: "You are not a mistake. God doesn't make mistakes. We celebrate transgender today. Lord, you knew what you were doing when you created transgender."
Meanwhile, in other locations, activists explored the findings of "Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey," which was released earlier this year by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
More than 6,400 transgender people were surveyed for the study, which the authors say "brings to light what is both patently obvious and far too often dismissed from the human rights agenda."
"Transgender and gender non-conforming people face injustice at every turn: in childhood homes, in school systems that promise to shelter and educate, in harsh and exclusionary workplaces, at the grocery store, the hotel front desk, in doctors' offices and emergency rooms, before judges and at the hands of landlords, police officers, health care workers and other service providers," authors Jaime M. Grant, Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, Jody L. Hermand and Keisling wrote in their executive summary.
The authors, in surveying thousands from all 50 states as well as several U.S. territories, say they created the first large-scale comprehensive look at anti-trans bias to guide policymakers, activists and legal advocates.
The authors found:
• Discrimination is pervasive, but racism and anti-trans bias is "especially devastating."
• Those surveyed are four times more likely than the general population to live in poverty, with an annual household income of less than $10,000.
• 41 percent of those surveyed reported attempting suicide, a rate much higher than the 1.6 percent for the general population.
• Those who identified as transgender or as gender non-conforming in K-12 grades experienced harassment (78 percent), physical assault (35 percent) and sexual violence (12 percent).
• The unemployment rate for the survey population is double the rate of the general population.
• 26 percent of those surveyed reported losing a job due to anti-transgender bias.
• 19 percent of those surveyed said they were denied housing because of bias.
• 53 percent of the survey population reported being verbally harassed in a public place.
• 59 percent of those surveyed reported updating the gender on their driver's license and other documents, meaning 41 percent live without an ID that matches their gender identity.
• 46 percent reported discomfort seeking police assistance.
The authors, in their conclusion, write that "Injustice at Every Turn" is a call to action for those who pass laws and set policies.
"Discrimination is pervasive and severe toward transgender and gender non-conforming people," said NGLTF executive director Rea Carey. "The alarming personal stories and stats show that transgender people face injustice everywhere and in many ways. They fear for their livelihood, their safety, their ability to feed their families and have a roof over their heads. This is simply unacceptable. We must continue working toward a culture that affirms the dignity and worth of all people. Until no more of our transgender friends and family are lost to senseless hate violence, we must not rest."
