Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) 2018

Press Release

369 reported murders of trans and gender-diverse people in the last year

On the occasion of the International Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR), which is held on 20th of November 2018 [1], the Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvT) team is publishing the Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) research project update [2] to join the voices raising awareness of this day regarding hate crimes against trans and gender-diverse people, and to honour the lives of those who might otherwise be forgotten.

The TDoR 2018 update has revealed a total of 369 cases of reported killings of trans and gender-diverse people between 1st of October 2017 and 30th of September 2018, constituting an increase of 44 cases compared to last year’s update and 74 cases compared to 2016. The majority of the murders occurred in Brazil (167), Mexico (71), the United States (28), and Colombia (21), adding up to a total of 2982 reported cases in 72 countries worldwide between 1st of January 2008 and 30th of September 2018.

Stigma and discrimination against trans and gender-diverse people is real and profound around the world, and are part of a structural and ongoing circle of oppression that keeps us deprived of our basic rights. Trans and gender-diverse people are victims of horrifying hate violence, including extortion, physical and sexual assaults, and murder. In most countries, data on murdered trans and gender-diverse people are not systematically produced and it is impossible to estimate the actual number of cases.

Violence against trans and gender-diverse people frequently overlaps with other axes of oppression prevalent in society, such as racism, sexism, xenophobia, and anti-sex worker sentiment and discrimination. TMM data shows that the victims whose occupations are known are mostly sex workers (62%). In the United States, the majority of the trans people reported murdered are trans women of colour and/or Native American trans women (85%), and in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, which are the countries to which most trans and gender-diverse people from Africa and Central and South America migrate, 65% of the reported murder victims were migrants.

The TvT community report entitled Global Trans Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing will be published in December on www.transrespect.org/en/tvt-publication-series.

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ENDS

For more Information, TvT Project Coordinator, Lukas Berredo, is available for interviews and questions and can be reached at lukas[at]transrespect.org.

NOTES:

[1] Since 1999 the Trans Day of Remembrance, also known as Transgender Day of Remembrance, (TDoR), takes place every November. It is a day on which those trans and gender-diverse people who have been victims of homicide are remembered. Started in the US, TDoR is now held in many parts of the world.

[2] The Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) research project systematically monitors, collects, and analyses reports of homicides of trans and gender-diverse people worldwide. Updates of the results are published on the TvT website: http://transrespect.org/en/trans-murder-monitoring/tmm-resources