Today, November 20th 2015, is the annual Trans Day of Rememberance. In a tulmutous year that's seen both the legalization of same sex marriage as well as the senseless murder of 21 trans women in the past 11 months, it's hard to make a blanket statement. And worldwide, we saw the murder of 271 trans individuals, not accounting for unreported crimes. This year saw bounds for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole; but there's still so much left to be said.
For a full list of the deceased, please proceed to this list by Transrespect.org.
As The Avocate reminds us in their article "How We'll Remember U.S. Trans Women Killed in 2015," the number of Trans women murdered in 2014 was 13, though that doesn't account for unreported crimes. That means we've seen a 61% increase in the murders of Trans women in one year in the United States. "How We'll Remember..." is absolutely recommended reading. It features 21 portraits of the women killed this year.
It's been a year of hearing "trans" in the news. Caitlin Jenner's public transition brought the discussion to the doorstep of the Transgender Community. But with that discussion, as always, comes discrimination, hate, and violence. While awareness is being spread, the cost is never low. America may be more Trans-saavy than it was last year, but until we can see clear benefits of this saaviness across the transgender community, it's hard to determine what's been healthy and what hasn't been.
If you're interested in becoming more educated in Trans topics, check out this page from TransEquality, which covers Trans terminology A-Z.
Today was the first time ever that the UK Parliment flew the Transgender Flag for the Day of Remembrance. Said Education Secretary Nicky Morgan:
“I’m proud that for the first time a government department is flying the transgender flag – a mark of respect for all transgender people who have suffered discrimination and lost their lives due to hatred, violence, and prejudice.”
We at GeeksOut would like to take today to remember the names of those lost, and to think of the struggles of the Trans community. In a time where some seek to remove the T from LGBT, we remind ourselves that Trans women were the foremothers of the gay rights movement. That we are nothing without our history, and without each other. May we have a safer, healither 2016. May we remember those we have lost.
