Activists have identified at least 369 reports of trans people killed within the past 12 months

By Sonia Elks

LONDON, Nov 20 (Openly) - Transgender people are suffering a spiral of "horrifying" violence worldwide, activists said ahead of an annual day of remembrance for victims on Tuesday aimed at raising awareness of transphobic hate crimes.

Activists have identified at least 369 reports of trans people killed within the last 12 months, but said the true number may be significantly higher.

"Trans and gender-diverse people are victims of horrifying hate violence, including extortion, physical and sexual assaults, and murder," said Lukas Berredo, a spokesman for the Trans Murder Monitoring project, which collects the data.

FACTS ON TRANSPHOBIC MURDERS:

* Nearly 3,000 transgender people were murdered over the last decade worldwide. The most common causes of death were shooting, stabbing and beating.

* At least 369 transgender people were killed in the last 12 months.

* The number of trans people reported murdered each year by TMM has risen steadily, from 148 in 2008 to 358 last year.

* Brazil is the most dangerous country to be transgender, with at least 167 people killed in the last 12 months. Mexico had 71 murders, and the United States saw 28 killed.

* Nearly two thirds of reported victims over the last decade were sex workers.

* In the United States, more than three-quarters of trans people murdered in 2018 were women from an ethnic minority and nearly two thirds were aged under 35.

* In France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, 65 percent of reported murder victims in the last decade were migrants.

* Nearly three quarters of known U.S. victims in 2018 were initially identified by their previous gender in police or media reports, a practice activists say is disrespectful and can hamper investigations.

Sources: Trans Murder Monitoring, Trans Respect versus Transphobia Worldwide, Human Rights Commission (Reporting by Sonia Elks @soniaelks; Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)

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