There have been 265 recorded killings of transgender people in the past 12 months, a global monitoring project has revealed to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance. They include a police officer who was raped and beheaded in Argentina, a trans woman who was beaten to death with a stone in Brazil and another in the same country who was horrifically tortured: pieces of wood were inserted into her rectum and intestines and her penis was burnt. Another trans woman died as the result of a police beating in Cuba, in Mexico a trans woman was tortured and semi-amputated before being shot. The deaths also include a trans man who was stabbed in a karaoke bar in the Philippines, and the main spokesperson of the trans community in the Indian state of Gujarat, who was shot six times at point-blank by men in a car as she was about to get refreshments at a snack bar. Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring project says the 265 killings are a significant increase from the 162 reports in 2009, 179 in 2010 and 221 in 2011, and points to the extreme level of violence many trans people continue to be exposed to. However, it says the jump may also reflect its intensified cooperation and data exchange with organisations which document murders of LGBT or trans people. As in previous years, the overwhelming majority of reported cases were from Central and South America, which account for 80 per cent of the globally reported homicides of trans people since January 2008. The regions have also seen the starkest increase over the period. The majority, of 126 killings in the past year, were in Brazil, while Mexico reported 48 and the USA 15. Venezuela, Honduras, Colombia, Uruguay and Guatemala followed closely behind. In Asia most reported cases have been found in India, Pakistan and the Philippines, while in Europe Turkey had the most reported cases. The project’s believe even these high numbers are only a fraction of the real figures; the truth is much worse. “These are only the reported cases, which could be found through internet research. In most countries, data on murdered trans people are not systematically produced and it is impossible to estimate the numbers of unreported cases.” Today is the 14th International Transgender Day of Remembrance, where transgender people who have been victims of homicide are remembered. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against trans people, provides a space for public mourning and honours the lives of those trans people who might otherwise be forgotten. A horrifying list of those murdered in the past year is here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 20th November 2012 - 2:42pm