Perth’s LGBTIQA+ community came together on Thursday night for Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Gathering in Ozone Reserve, the event served as a moment to remember the many people lost to transphobic violence and suicide, but also as a reminder of the power of community and solidarity.
The sunset event featured a range of speakers, moments of reflection and acknowledgement that people who are transgender are still more likely to face violence, and death at a much higher rate than the rest of the population.
The first vigil was dedicated to Rita Hester, when activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith organised the event to honour her memory in 1999.
Now 26 years later the event has grown to be an internationally recognised moment to stop and reflect on the lives of all those lost, but also a time to commit to strategies to remove transphobia.
US based organisation Trans Remembrance has highlighted that this year in the USA people who are transgender have faced a wave of Executive Orders from US President Donald Trump as well as a record level of state based legislation aimed at curtailing people’s rights.
They also note that people who are transgender face a higher level of intimate partner violence. Studies have shown than people who are transgender are 1.7 times more likely to experience all forms of intimate partner violence.
Adding to the challenge is law enforcement agencies are often seen as not being sensitive to the needs of transgender people and their families, often at their time of greatest need.
Figures from the USA this year reported that 21 women who were transgender were killed in violent crimes, while 3 men who were transgender died, as well as three people who identified as nonbinary.
Of those tracked by the Trans Remembrance Project, 17 were Black, 3 were Latine, and 7 were White. In the USA the majority of the deaths, 62 per cent, were related to gun violence.
Similar information for Australia is harder to ascertain due to the different ways of reporting gender and crimes across Australian states.
