Transgender Americans are facing an epidemic of violence. Twenty-seven trans people, mostly women of color, were murdered in the U.S. in 2017, tying it with 2016 as the deadliest year on record. Of course, the number of victims in any given year is likely much higher, given that some are misgendered by police or media, and some homicides not reported at all.

As of early December, 24 homicides of trans Americans have been reported in 2018. The first known victim was Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, of North Adams, Mass. The founder of the Miss Trans America and Miss Trans New England pageants, she was stabbed to death at her home January 5. Her husband, Mark S. Steele-Knudslien, 47, has been charged with her murder. He turned himself in to police the same night, saying he had done "something very bad," and describing details of the crime, but he pleaded not guilty the following week in Northern Berkshire District Court. In January 2020, however, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

For Transgender Day of Remembrance, November 20, the Human Rights Campaign released a report, A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America in 2018, which covers the same deaths The Advocate had reported on at that point and raises concerns about two others. Roxana Hernández, a transgender immigrant, died May 25 in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The cause of death was complications of pneumonia and HIV, and activists say there are unanswered questions about the conditions in which she was detained and whether they may have contributed to her death. Also, Jessie Sumlar of Jacksonville, Fla., was found stabbed to death July 19. Sumlar was a gay man who often dressed in drag. Even though he did not identify as transgender, the HRC included his story because of the possibility that anti-trans bias because of his gender presentation figured in his death. Omar Lewis has been charged with Sumlar's murder, but police are still trying to determine a motive.