Vigils to be held across the world next week for transgender murder victims

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

Events will be held around the world next week to mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is held every year on November 20, to mark the huge number of transgender people who still lose their lives to transphobic violence around the world.

It was sparked in 1998 by the San Francisco murder of Rita Hester, whose killer was never found, and has gradually expanded to a global scale.

226 transgender people were reportedly killed in the past 12 months – though statistics are unreliable, as most countries do not hold accurate data on transgender victims.

In the UK, events will be taking place in a number of towns and cities, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Gloucester, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Bristol, Bradford and Torquay.

Last month a US Marine was formally charged with the murder of Filipino trans woman Jennifer Laude, sparking outrage in the Philippines over military presence.

The remains of 27-year-old Indonesian trans woman Mayang Prasetyo were found in her Brisbane home last month – with police blaming her husband for the killing, who fled before taking his own life.

A 35-year-old trans woman was also murdered last month in Alagoas province, Brazil, after being shot in the head three times.

A large proportion of the murder victims are from Brazil – which is considered the trans murder capital of the world – and across Latin America.

Activists complain that murders of transgender people are more likely to go unsolved, while it is still common practice for police reports to misgender victims and refer to them by their birth name.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance will be held on November 20. For details of events, see TDOR.

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