Trans Day of Remembrance ……….
With the upcoming International Transgender Day of Remembrance approaching, and the day to remember lives lost happening on 20th November this year, I thought this was a good time to write about what it is all about. The first one took place on 20th November 1999 and was to remember those who had lost their lives due to acts of transphobic violence. Although this is the specific reason for the day, this is just the tip of the iceberg as so many more also take their own lives and for many people, this is a day to remember them also. I guess the clue is in the name, but still many people ask, why does the trans community have a special day to remember ??, but most are not even aware of the shocking statistics that surround why we have this day and why the trans community and its allies will come together on this day to show love and solidarity in remembrance of those who are no longer with us. In my opinion, of all the minority groups that exist in society, by far the most misunderstood, put down, pushed aside, rejected and socially dismissed group are those of us that make up the transgender community. The press still love a good bit of scaremongering and continue to use a trans individuals’ status to sensationalise a story, like identifying as trans was the reason someone committed a crime, and not that they were simply a criminal. They love to fuel the fires of anyone who thinks that the recent consultation to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 is suddenly going to change things. It’s not, the rights of trans people already exist, and are subject to protected status, what it will do is make the process for changing a birth certificate less invasive. As things stand, so called experts with little or no personal knowledge of a person get the right to decide who someone is, and a spouse, even separated must agree or they can prevent the change being allowed as well, a serious issue if the transition was the cause of the breakup in the first place. These things add to the difficulties that trans people already experience. They give the ill-educated and intolerant some kind of self-justification in their persecutory behaviour, irrespective that they may be committing hate crimes by their actions. Then of course there are those who hide behind religion to justify their lack of acceptance, those who claim it’s all just a mental illness, those who get off on bullying and trolling others whether in person or online, those who like to ridicule and humiliate others for being different, those who seek to harm or bring about harm, and ultimately those that actually kill for whatever reason. With 325 known murders around the world last year, and many, many missing persons, suspected dead, but with no bodies found, it’s likely that the year on year trend increase will continue this year. And this is just the number of deaths from murder, it doesn’t include suicides, attempted suicides or serious assaults. Whatever way you look at it, the premature death rate amongst the Trans community is higher than any other single group of people, here are a few statistics for you taken from a Stonewall Trans Survey and backed up by the 2018 you.gov LGBT survey/poll which used data from over 108000 respondents, and from Rethink Mental Health (UK Charity). 40% of Trans people have experienced Hate Incidents/Crimes in last 12 months because of their gender identity. 80% of Incidents/Crimes that Trans people experience are not reported as they feel the police will not support them or they will receive further discriminative behaviour. 40% of Trans people will adjust the way they dress and present themselves because they fear discrimination and harassment. 48% of Trans people don’t feel comfortable using public toilets. 34% of Trans people have experienced discrimination in Cafes, Bars, Restaurants and Nightclubs in the past 12 months. 50% of Trans people hide or disguise their Transgender status at work through fear of discrimination. 14% of Trans people are not open to any family members and 6 % not open to any friends also. 74% do not have the support of their families and 28% have faced domestic abuse from a partner. 88% of Trans people suffer from depression and other Mental Health Issues and of them, some 84% had self-harmed or attempted/committed suicide. When I read these statistics it really does make me glad that I have so much support and love and so many accepting friends around me. That said, I am a number amongst some of those statistics, and I am deeply saddened that too many other trans friends of mine fall into many more of those categories than I do. I can look at my social media feeds at any time of the day, and I am sure that within a few minutes I can find evidence of the harsh reality of these stats in any number of groups that I belong to, and the huge negative impacts that others impress upon some lives. All of this is why global representations, like Trans Day of Visibility back in March, Trans Awareness Week 12-19 Nov and Trans Day of Remembrance 20 Nov are so important in raising the profile of normality for trans people. Working with the Authorities, Education Institutions, Business and Retail, in fact all areas of life to encourage acceptance of diversity, spread inclusion and promote equality. Only when all these things improve, will we see the numbers of individuals affected so much, simply because of their gender status, reduced. At this time, all I can do is ask that if you are reading this, that you do your bit, show support and understanding for the issues and battles that trans people face every day. Take a small bit of your time come along to a vigil near you and remember those who either couldn’t go on or were taken, and also for those struggling on. . I will be attending a candlelit vigil at the Guildhall Square in Southampton this year, if this is of interest to you it will be from 6:30-7:00pm and from 5:00pm there will be a gathering at The Art House nearby, for collection candles and an opportunity to chat and reflect. After this, there will be a variety show at The Stage Door, raising funds for both Southampton Pride and Chrysalis. Finally, I hope this post has given a little insight into why this day is so important to me and many others, I would like to say a massive thankyou to you all for taking the time to read this. If you want to know more, then contact me through this blog or on one of the other Social Media platforms that I use (The links are all below). I’d also love to receive your feedback. Thanks again, Love and Hugs, Sophie xxx Facebook www.facebook.com/beingsophie Twitter www.twitter.com/sophietgirl Bloglovin www.bloglovin.com/blogs/being-sophie-17676297
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AuthorHi, I'm Sophie. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Please leave some comments on what you think of my blog x Archives
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