International Transgender Day of Remembrance
What is Trans Day of Remembrance?
The Transgender Day of remembrance (TDOR) is observed on November 20th, marking an important day of mourning and honouring transgender and non-binary lives lost to transphobic violence. This day urges recognition and awareness of the past decades and current ongoing violence towards the transgender community across the globe.
This day of remembrance began in 1999 after the murder of Rita Hester, a transgender woman of colour. She was a victim of a brutal hate crime, and yet, the media failed to acknowledge her death. To honour Rita Hester, a vigil was held in her memory in San Francisco that soon became a day to commemorate all trans lives lost.
Note: Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe a person who does not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth.
Understanding the barriers they continue to face
As a systemically marginalized group, the transgender community has been subject to decades of neglect, hate, and harmful stigmas, resulting in ongoing structural discrimination and violence. These discrimination tactics (that can be both covert and overt) continue to systemically disadvantage them— affecting many aspects of their daily life.
Employment: Prejudice and bias left unchecked in the workplace have led to discriminatory practices like being unfairly denied a job or lack of access to spaces/resources (e.g. all gender washrooms)
Healthcare: Many physicians lack the knowledge and training to provide care for trans folk. The system also chooses to fall short in providing accessible, affordable, comprehensive gender-affirming healthcare.
Gender-based violence: Transgender people experience disproportionate levels of violence— harassment, physical/ sexual assault, murder— which increases their risk for mental health problems, violence and poverty.
Epidemic of violence against the trans community
Efforts to track and analyze the prevalence of transphobic violence have been initiated through The Trans Murder Monitoring report— a global project. The report is released every year to mark TDOR and has recorded 4,039 deaths since the first release in 2008. The most recent report highlights an alarming trend of more fatalities with every year. Trans women of colour, sex workers, and immigrants are among the most vulnerable in the transgender community.
2019 (331 deaths) >> 2020 (350 deaths) >> 2021 (75 deaths)
The most concerning part is that these numbers are only a fraction of what the true numbers are. The lack of legal recognition beyond a gender binary system in many countries (a by-product of colonization) leads to misreporting and inaccurate statistics— and sometimes even no reporting. These numbers are probably much, MUCH higher than we expect.
Gender Affirming Care
A study found that 35% of transgender folks in Ontario have seriously considered suicide over the previous year. Experts believe access to gender-affirming care can substantially reduce that risk.
NDP MPP, Kristyn Wong Tam, brought a private bill to
The Gender-Affirming Health Care Advisory Committee Act aimed to improve care for trans, two-spirit, intersex, non-binary and gender-diverse people.
Unsurprisingly, Doug Ford and his MPPs, some of whom are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community themselves, denied the motion.
Let's make something clear - to deny trans people gender-affirming care means you do not value their lives. If your province, like Ontario, doesn't cover gender-affirming care, you should be livid. Especially since these politicians almost always come out during Pride for the photo op, while continuing to fail the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. Fucking bigots.
And in Quebec...
In October of 2021, Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin Barrette proposed changes to Bill 2 that faced immediate public backlash. The proposal outlined that only transgender people who underwent gender-affirming surgery could legally change their sex on birth certificates. Those that didn't undergo surgery couldn't modify their sex but would instead have a gender 'option' (and they would be the only ones with this). This would explicitly out transgender people every time they presented the certificate, subjecting them to further discrimination.
Not even a month later, the surgical requirements were dropped. The bill also intervened with surrogate reproduction, parental naming, and information disclosed to adopted children. At its core, this bill screamed transphobia. Why was a bill this dangerous that could affect 16,000+ transgender and non-binary Quebecois even considered in the first place?!
Recognizing key Canadian figures
Jamie Lee Hamilton, a trans woman of Métis and Cree background, was an activist and politician who advocated for sex workers, the transgender community, and MMIWG. She became the first transgender person to run for office in Canada. Pictured is Hamilton in 1997 on the steps of Vancouver city hall after dumping 67 pairs of heels to represent the 67 missing women and sex workers from the Downtown Eastside (girlboss move).
Rupert Raj, a trans man of Eurasian background, was a trans activist. He founded three trans-related publications, including Canada's first national trans publication called "Gender Review"— a risky move in the 1970s when there was zero protection for trans people. He founded multiple organizations, including the Association for Canadian Transsexuals (A.C.T) and co-founded a peer-support group for transsexual men and women.
Aiyanna Maracle, a Haudenosaunee trans woman, was a performer, author, and educator that focused on decolonizing the understanding of gender. Her theatre performances across Canada were highly inspirational as she expressed how gender is fluid in many Indigenous cultures. She is believed to be the first Indigenous woman to receive the John Hirsch Prize for an emerging new director in Canada in 1997.
Kael McKenzie, a trans man of Metis background, was the first openly transgender judge in Canada. In 2015, Kael was sworn into the Provincial Court of Manitoba as a proud member of the Manitoba Métis Nation. McKenzie served as the Manitoba chair for the Canadian Bar Association and was also the president of the Rainbow Resource Centre in Manitoba, supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
Recognizing key Canadian figures
Sometimes it seems like we have made large strides toward transgender equality. But if you take a step back, you will quickly realize we still have so far to go. And a critical first step is to listen to and elevate the voices of trans folks critically.
Check out these accounts headed by trans content creators (and drop more in the comments!):
@thefreeactorvist
@summerluk
@ajclementine_
@alokvmenon
@therosemontoya
@raindovemodel
@thedisabledhippie
@JustJamieP
That also means supporting trans folks with your money: donate to organizations advocating for trans rights, shop at trans-owned businesses and restaurants, and pay trans activists when they link payment options. Show. Up.
Our role in this movement
For allies of the LGBT community, remember your allyship needs to be of the Trans community too. TDOR is a time to reflect on your privilege and recognize that you must show up. Showing our solidarity starts with educating ourselves first about transgender people and the uphill battle they fight every day.
Oh, and don't forget the role that media and law enforcement play. But more than that, we have a large role of holding them accountable. Pressure and solidarity work, and we all saw firsthand with the recent CUPE strike— so let's keep going!
Call on politicians, governments, and lawmakers for more representation. We want them to:
educate our children on (and beyond) TDOR
increase funding for gender-affirming healthcare
report accurate statistics on the violence against the transgender community (we figured out how to get to the moon, but not this?!)
