Posted on 11th November 2020 in [:en]Press[:es]Noticias[:], Research, Trans Murder Monitoring

TMM Update Trans Day of Remembrance 2020

350 trans and gender-diverse people reported murdered in the last year

 

On the occasion of the International Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR),1 held every year on 20 November, the Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvT) research project publishes updated data gathered through the Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM).2

The TDoR 2020 update reveals a total of 350 trans and gender-diverse people registered murdered between 1 October 2019 and 30 September 2020, representing a 6% increase in reported murders from the 2019 update. The majority of the murders occurred in Brazil (152), Mexico (57), and the United States (28), adding up to a total of 3664 reported cases in 75 countries and territories worldwide between 1 January 2008 and 30 September 2020.

TDoR 2020 data shows that:

  • 350 trans and gender-diverse people were murdered, 6% more than in the TMM update 2019;
  • 98% of those murdered globally were trans women or trans feminine people;
  • 62% of murdered trans people whose occupation is known were sex workers;
  • People of colour make up 79% of the 28 trans people murdered in the USA;
  • 11 trans people murdered in Europe; 50% were migrants;
  • 82% of all the murders registered happened in Central and South America; 43% in Brazil;
  • 38% of the murders took place on the street and 22% in their own residence;
  • The average age of those murdered is 31 years old; the youngest being 15 years old.

Gathered data shows an alarming trend of a gradual increase in murders of trans and gender-diverse people per year between 2008 and 2020. However, these figures are not complete. Due to data not being systematically collected in most countries, added to the constant misgendering by families, authorities, and media, it is not possible to estimate the number of unreported cases.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as growing racism and police brutality, the lives of trans and gender-diverse people are at even greater risk. Data is a testimony of how COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting trans people worldwide, especially those most marginalised, such as Black and women of colour, sex workers, migrants, youth, and poor.

Behind the statistical representation of numbers and percentages, there are people whose lives we value and who we, as societies, failed to protect. Aggregated data indicates that Black and migrant trans women of colour are more vulnerable and frequently targeted. Social stigma and criminalisation of sex work expose trans sex workers to abuse, exploitation, and violence. At the same time, those groups are repeatedly silenced and underrepresented within our communities and societies. Although COVID-19 affects us all, social differences and inequalities are deepened by the pandemic, emphasising gaps in lack of legislation and systemic protection of trans and gender-diverse people.

More about the project can be found on our TMM report 2016.

For more information or an interview, please contact:
Lukas Berredo, TvT project coordinator, lukas[at]tgeu.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