By Sabrina Samone, TMP
Our people suffer persistent inequalities in all aspects of
life. Transgender people are often the most visible and therefore most
marginalized part of the greater LGBT community, particularly those individuals
who face multiple oppressions based on class and race,” says Dru
Levasseru, Director of Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project.
So guess what? It seems November is our month and this week
is Transgender Awareness week. This week aims to bring attention to the issues
faced by transgender and gender-nonconforming people. The week will end with
the Transgender Day of Remembrance, when individuals and organizations around
the world gather to memorialize the victims of anti-trans hatred and violence.
Our people suffer persistent inequalities in all aspects of
life. Transgender people are often the most visible and therefore most
marginalized part of the greater LGBT community, particularly those individuals
who face multiple oppressions based on class and race,” says Dru
Levasseru, Director of Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project.
Every year, the Transgender Awareness week calls to light
the need for greater public understanding and acceptance of people whose gender
identity or expression differs from societal expectations about how they should
look, act, or identify.
- 50% of
transgender individuals report having to teach their medical providers about
transgender care
- 28% report being subjected to harassment in medical
settings
- 19% report being refused care due to their transgender or
gender non-conforming status
According to a recent gay star news report; At
least 238 Trans-people have been murdered worldwide this past year. Brazil and
Mexico lead the list in the most reported killings of Trans-men and woman,
according to a new report released by Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder
Monitoring project. Transgender Europe fears the numbers are only the tip of
the iceberg of the real figures. The report only includes the murders of Trans-people
that can be documented through publicly available information, or are reported
by local advocacy groups. Media organizations – including normally reputable
Western names - are often guilty of miss-gendering the victims when they are Trans,
making it even more difficult to get a real sense of the problem. And even in
countries where rights for gays and lesbians have made progress, it is clear
they are still dangerous places for Trans-people to exist. In Brazil, 95 Trans-people
were reportedly murdered, and in Mexico, 40 were killed. Other countries include
the United States, with 16 murders, Venezuela, with 15, Colombia, with 12, and
Turkey, with eight. The project also has found the highest number of murders of
minors in the five years it has been keeping statistics. Since the start of
2013, 11 Trans-people under the age of 18 have been killed. Just one of these
was a 16-year-old Trans-girl murdered by a mob at a house party in Jamaica. A
Transgender Europe spokesman said: ‘The alarming figures demonstrate once more
that there is an urgent need to react to the violence against Trans-people and
to seek mechanisms to protect Tran- people.
This is an
important week to educate those around you about the lives of yourself and
other transgender people. Stand tall be visible, if not for you and for the 238
Transgender brothers and sisters that have passed this year alone. I may be new
to the Charleston West Virginia area but we will find our way to educate one
person this week on what it means to be Trans and to remember those that have
fallen.
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Stop Killing My Sisters
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