Another year with many transgender victims

Every year, the numbers seem to get worse. In 2017 there were at least 29 deaths of transgender people  in the United States from violence against them. The numbers are in for 2018; there were at least 26 transgender victims reported.

We use the term “at least” because not all transgender killings are properly documented. Often, law enforcement officials, families and the media misgender the victims, using their dead name or the pictures on ID cards to decide what gender a victim is.

It often takes friends contacting authorities to set the record straight.

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Despite an all-time high in trans-visibility, with celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox now mainstream media stars, violence against the community is getting worse, community advocates say, CNN said Wednesday in an extensive report.

"Transgender people, unfortunately, are at risk of violence everywhere," Beverly Tillery, program executive director with the New York City Anti-Violence Project told CNN.

"When there is a mix of misogyny, transphobia and racism, people who live in the intersection of multiple identities, the violence they face can be inflamed by the multiplying prejudices," Sarah McBride, national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), told CNN.

"While there certainly are examples of individuals killed by people they know, including partners, many of the transgender people who have been killed are murdered by almost complete strangers," McBride said. "More people need to understand this epidemic of violence targeting minority people in this country, including transgender people, is hate-based and a byproduct of existing prejudice inflamed by politicians all too eager to appeal to the darker undercurrent of society."

Eighteen of the known 2018 victims were shot; four were stabbed; the homes of two victims were set on fire while they were sstill in them; four were beaten to death. Eighteen of the cases remain unsolved.

Violence against transgender people is common. The 2015 US Transgender Survey found that violence is not confined to murder. Half of the nearly 28,000 transgender people surveyed had experienced some form of intimate partner violence.

More than one in four transgender people has been assaulted because of their identity.

Transgender and LGBTQ activists around the country are working hard to educate the public and turn these statistics around.

To see the names and some information about 2018’s victims you can visit the HRC website’s “Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2018” page.

Copyright The Gayly – January 16, 2019 @ 3:30 p.m. CST.