Published on Nov 19, 2019
This Trans Day of Remembrance, we honor and mourn the lives that have been lost to the ongoing epidemic of violence against trans people, and we also recognize the resilience of those trans folks who carry the weight of those we’ve lost to violence and systemic oppression on their shoulders today, and yet who still continue to fight for a world in which trans people live freely, without fear, and with profound dignity.
This Trans Day of Remembrance, we honor and mourn the lives that have been lost to the ongoing epidemic of violence against trans people. Over the past year, we lost at least 331 trans people to acts of violence worldwide, according to Transgender Europe. Violence against trans people is a global epidemic that we cannot afford to ignore.
Over the past two decades, trans activists across the globe have made extraordinary gains toward trans justice. Trans activists have been fighting to challenge discrimination and stigma, advocate for progressive gender recognition laws, implement community-led healthcare programs, combat criminalization, and develop laws and policies that prohibit transphobic violence. With increased visibility, however, have come increased reports of violence against trans people.
We acknowledge that trans women of color are particularly vulnerable to transmisogyny and violence, and that trans sex workers are even more vulnerable to that violence. The statistics on violence against trans sex workers are startling: in recent years, 62% of murdered trans people whose occupation is known were sex workers.
We also recognize that trans organizers face a lack of institutional support. Our society is constantly failing trans people, and philanthropy is no different. In our recent report on The State of Trans Funding, created in collaboration with the Global Philanthropy Project, American Jewish World Service, and GATE, we found that trans organizations accounted for only 2.7% of all global funding in 2015-16.
In the face of so much violence, we also recognize the resilience of those trans folks who carry the weight of those we’ve lost to violence and systemic oppression on their shoulders today, and yet who still continue to fight for a world in which trans people live freely, without fear, and with profound dignity.
Sources: TGEU TdOR update; TGEU Trans and gender-diverse people, migration and sex work report; The State of Trans Funding report
