TMM Update Trans Day of Remembrance 2019

331 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 2019 [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 2019 update has revealed a total of 331 cases of reported killings of trans and gender-diverse people between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2019. The majority of the murders occurred in Brazil (130), Mexico (63), and the United States (30), adding up to a total of 3314 reported cases in 74 countries worldwide between 1st of January 2008 and 30th of September 2019.

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, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-sex worker sentiment and discrimination. TMM data shows that the victims whose occupations are known are mostly sex workers (61%). In the United States, the majority of the trans people reported murdered are trans women of colour and/or Native American trans women (90%), 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 migrant trans women.

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

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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