November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observation on November 20 that honors the memories of those people whose lives were lost due to anti-transgender violence. Across the country and around the world, groups have planned candlelight vigils, marches and other events to help raise the visibility of transgender and non-gender-conforming people and address the issues they face.

GLAAD notes that the Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed in late November in recognition of the 1998 murder of Rita Hester, a highly visible member of the transgender community in her native Boston, where she worked locally on education around transgender issues.

On Saturday, Nov. 28, 1998, Hester was stabbed 20 times in her apartment. A neighbor called the police, and Rita was rushed to the hospital. She passed away from cardiac arrest only moments after being admitted. Thirteen years later, police have still not found Rita's murderer.

In 1999, one year after Hester's murder, advocate and writer Gwendolyn Ann Smith coordinated a vigil in her honor. The vigil commemorated not only Hester, but also all who were tragically lost to anti-transgender violence. That number has grown to more than 327 people in the U.S. alone, with more than 300 from other countries.

"The Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence," wrote Smith. "I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice."

But even as TDOR approached, transpeople were still being attacked. On Friday, November 14 in Detroit, the unidentified body of a transgender woman was found in a trash bag.

"We are saddened and angry to hear of the murder of another transgender woman of color who has yet to be identified," said Yvonne Siferd, director of victim services for Equality Michigan. "The undignified way in which her body was dumped speaks to the larger issue of anti-transgender hostility in our society, and the vast amount of work we, as supporters of the LGBT communities, have in front of us. We know that transgender women of color are the most disproportionately affected by violence and hate against the LGBT communities, and this latest incident is a tragic reminder of that reality."

The 2013 Hate Violence Report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects documents more than 2,000 incidents of anti-gay violence in 2013, noting that the violence increased in severity, with a 21 percent increase in reports of physical hate violence. Anti-LGBTQ and HIV-affected homicides decreased from 25 in 2012 to 18 in 2013, and remain among the highest ever recorded by NCAVP.

Almost 90 percent of these victims were people of color, almost three-quarters were transgender women, and more than two-thirds were transgender women of color. In 2013, more than 27 percent of homicide victims were gay men. This is a problem that affects our entire community.

"Here in New York City alone we saw three hate violence homicides in 2013, an unprecedented number. Islan Nettles was a transgender woman, Mark Carson identified as a gay man, Ever Orozco was killed because he was perceived to be gay, and all three victims were people of color," said Chanel Lopez, Hate Violence Counselor/Advocate at the New York City Anti-Violence Project. "These alarming national statistics -- and even more so these tragic deaths -- can no longer be ignored."

In 2013 in the U.S. alone, transpeople killed because of their gender identity include Florida's Ashley Sinclair, who was beaten and shot in the head; Richmond's Amari White, shot; Kelly Young, shot in Baltimore; Islan Nettles of Harlem, killed from blunt force trauma; Shreveport's Terry Golston and Jock Maurice McKinney, shot; Rochester's Fatima Woods, stabbed; California's Melony Smith, beaten to death; Philadelphia's Diamond Williams, dismembered; New Jersey's Eyricka Morgan, stabbed to death; Texas' Artegus Koyale Madden, shot; Cleveland's Cemia "CeCe" Dove, stabbed then tied with rope to a block of concrete and thrown in a pond; and Milwaukee's Evon Young, tied up, beaten, choked, shot, set on fire and thrown into a Dumpster.

This list doesn't even include the many unknown victims, but the extreme level of violence illustrates the fear and ignorance that drives people to victimize our transgender community members.

At this time, 14 states, the District of Columbia and more than 125 municipalities offer hate crimes protections that are inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. After its signing in October 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act has made it a federal hate crime to assault an individual based on actual or perceived disability, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. This landmark legislation both mandates that the FBI track hate crimes based on anti-transgender bias and allows the Justice Department to assist in the prosecution of local hate crimes based on gender identity.

And GLAAD is working to increase positive images of transgender characters in film and television, championing when series like "America's Next Top Model" featured their first transgender contestant Isis King in 2008, the 2010 VH1 makeover reality series "TRANSform Me," the documentary "Becoming Chaz," and transgender characters in shows like "Glee," "Orange is the New Black," "The Fosters" and "Transparent."

By educating the mainstream about transgender issues and by speaking out against anti-transgender violence, the LGBT community can send a message that we will not stand idly by while transgender lives are lost to senseless violence. So go out tonight and participate in your local TDOR events.