GLAAD observes Transgender Day of Remembrance
GLAAD, the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today joined organizers of the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) to memorialize those who lost their lives due to anti-transgender violence and to raise public awareness around increasing rates of violence facing transgender people.
GLAAD is urging its constituents to participate in vigils around the country, and GLAAD staff members will attend vigils in New York and Los Angeles. Observed annually on November 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. A full listing of TDoR vigils and events is available here: transgenderdor.org
A new timeline was shared on GLAAD’s Facebook page to illustrate milestones in transgender visibility and activism since 1952 as part of Transgender Awareness Week. That timeline is available here: www.glaad.org/blog/timeline-look-back-history-transgender-visibility
“With anti-transgender violence on the rise, we remember our colleagues, friends and family whose lives were taken simply because of who they are,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “We must stand together to end the violence, working every day to spread awareness and acceptance of transgender people.”
“The Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost,” said Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith. “With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”
According to a 2012 report from the National Coalition of Anti Violence Programs, people who identify as transgender were 28% more likely to experience physical violence than those who are not.
Later today, GLAAD will also release an analysis of transgender images on television over the past 10 years.
Transgender Day of Remembrance marks the end of Transgender Awareness Week, a national campaign to raise visibility and awareness of transgender people and issues, which began November 12. GLAAD observed Transgender Awareness Week with the national launch of new “I AM: Trans People Speak” videos, featuring New York Times bestseller Professor Jennifer Finney Boylan, actress Laverne Cox, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) attorney Noah Lewis, and performance poet Kit Yan. The campaign, first started by Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) in 2010, aims to spotlight the stories of transgender Americans and their allies in an effort to educate the public about transgender issues, as well as speak to transgender youth and adults. Videos and more information about Transgender Awareness Week is available here: glaad.org/transawarenessweek
GLAAD also hosted a series of guest posts on its blog from transgender advocates and allies, which can be found at glaad.org/transawarenessweek .
Follow the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Twitter with hashtag #TDoR and find more information at transgenderdor.org and glaad.org/tdor.