Today is Trans Day of Remembrance, a day to reflect on the challenges faced by transgender people and the high number of transgender people who have been the victims of crime and discrimination.
Transgender day of remembrance grew out of a memorial for Rita Hester. Hester was murdered in Alston, Massachusetts on November 28th 1998.
The following Friday 250 people attended a candlelight vigil called ‘Remembering Our Dead.
Since then the movement has grown to be an international event observed in over 185 countries around the world.
The goal of the candlelight memorial is to play respect to the transgender people who have been killed in the last year.
A memorial will be held in Perth at the Urban Orchard opposite the Art Gallery in the Perth Cultural Centre at 6pm.
Sadly the official website for the event lists a large number of people killed in the last year who identified as being transgender. The list of people killed is far from definitive, the high profile murder of Mayang Prasetyo which occurred in Brisbane is not included.
OIP Staff, Image: YayMicro/Rob Stark
