According to a report released Friday,
at least 25 transgender people in the United States have been
murdered this year, a new record.
The report, titled A
Time to Act: Fatal Violence Against Transgender People in America in
2017, was produced by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
Foundation and the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) ahead of
Monday's Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day set aside to remember
the transgender people who lost their lives during the previous year.
“The epidemic of violence against
transgender people is an urgent crisis that demands the nation's
immediate attention,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The
unique and tragic stories featured in this report reflect the
obstacles that many transgender Americans — especially trans women
of color — face in their daily lives. It is crucial that we know
these stories in order to combat the transphobia, misogyny and racism
fueling this violence so that we can end this epidemic before it
takes any more lives.”
Eighty-four percent of the 25 lives
lost in 2017 were people of color, according to the report, and 80
percent were women.
HRC has also documented at least 102
transgender murders since January 2013. Eighty-seven of the victims
were people of color.
“Each of the stories featured in this
report is unique, tragic and devastating,” said TPOCC Executive
Director Kylar Broadus. “Unpacking these stories is a difficult but
necessary process if we as a society want to protect the most
vulnerable and address the root causes for their unjust and premature
deaths.”
HRC said that there has been a
“notable” increase in anti-LGBT rhetoric – one of the factors
that can contribute to such violence – since the election of
President Donald Trump, who despite his assurances during the
campaign that he was a “friend” to the LGBT community, has
rolled-back Obama-era policies that protected transgender
individuals, including reinstating a military ban on transgender
troops and repealing guidelines that allowed transgender students
attending public schools to use the bathroom of their choice.