Stop Trans Murders
Join the Calls for an End to Anti-Transgender Violence!
May 3, 2016:
Honoring the life of Reese Walker
The National LGBTQ Task Force condemns the murder of 32-year-old trans woman of color Reese Walker on Sunday May 01, 2016. A GoFundMe page has been set up by friends to help Walker’s family with funeral costs
April 11, 2016:
Honoring the life of Shante Thompson
The National LGBTQ Task Force condemns the murder of 34 year old trans woman of color Shante Thompson on Sunday April 10, 2016.
February 8, 2016:
Joint Statement on the Death of Kayden Clarke
The National LGBTQ Task Force issued a joint statement with the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and other disability and LGBT rights organizations strongly condemning the police shooting of Kayden Clarke, an Autistic transgender man, in his home on February 4 in Mesa, Arizona.
Kayden Clarke, 24 Year Old Trans Man with Asperger’s from Arizona. Killed by Mesa Police.
December 2015:
Join us on December 17 to observe International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Trans women of color face devastating amounts of violence, and the criminalization of sex work leaves them even more vulnerable. 12 trans women and gender nonconforming individuals who engaged in sex work were murdered in the U.S. in 2015, 10 of whom were black and one of whom was Latina. They comprised 29% of U.S. sex worker homicide victims. According to a 2012 report, 23% of LGBT homicides that year were sex work related.
We must end the criminalization of all people who work in the sex trade in order to end this violence. Laws punishing people engage in the sex trade serve only to worsen the violence and economic hardships of transgender people already struggling to survive.
Below are resources for taking action to end violence against sex workers:
Sex Work Policy Recommendations from National LGBTQ Task Force:
Find an Event in Your City on December 17 for International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers:
Violence Against Trans Sex Workers Fact Sheet by Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA (SWOP-USA):
“Meaningful Work: Transgender Experiences in the Sex Trade”–a new report based on the National Transgender Discrimination Survey sponsored by the Red Umbrella Project, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Best Practices Policy Project:
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November 2015:
Please Join Us for Trans Awareness Month this November, and for Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20
Click here to learn more about Trans Awareness Month, including events we are supporting
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October 16. 2015:
There have been at least 23 trans women and gender nonconforming people murdered in 2015, the majority of whom were black and/or Latina.
Zella Ziona, a 21 year-old black trans woman from Gaithersburg, Maryland is the most recent victim. She was reported murdered on October 15.
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About StopTransMurders:
Zella Ziona, Papi Edwards, Lamia Beard, Taja Gabrielle de Jesus, Penny Proud, Kristina Grant Infiniti, Mya Shawatza Hall, London Chanel: these are the names of some of 23 the trans women and gender nonforming people murdered in 2015. 12 other trans women of color were reported murdered in 2014. In 2013, where there were also 12 reported murders of trans women of color, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence programs reported that 72% of hate crimes against LGBTQ people were against trans women, 90% of whom were transgender women of color.
With the StopTransMurders campaign, we’re challenging the media to report these facts, and we’re amplifying a national dialogue on anti-transgender violence and other key issues affecting the transgender community. At the same time that we call attention to the violence against transgender individuals, we are also building awareness of the pervasive discrimination trans people face in all aspects of their lives, and how this contributes to them being at heightened risk of violence.
Without a safe place to come home to or a workplace or school where they feel safe, it’s not surprising that 1 in 4 trans people have experienced violence. Trans people also regularly experience violence in bathrooms and other places of public accommodation. If a trans person is injured by violence and needs medical care, they may suffer additional harassment and violence at the hands of emergency first-responders and medical professionals, or they may be denied medical care altogether because of anti-trans bias.
Police, rather than keeping the trans community safe, are often also a source of violence. Trans women of color are regularly profiled by police as sex workers for simply walking down the street, as we saw with the case of Monica Jones in Phoenix, Arizona. Mya Shawatza Hall, a young black trans woman from Baltimore, was killed on March 31, 2015 by an NSA security officer who shot through the windshield of her car at her after she mistakenly entered NSA property.
Police profiling and police brutality are key issues facing the transgender community, and the Stop Trans Murders campaign is in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and nationwide efforts to end racial profiling and violence against people of color. Trans women of color face the highest violence and homicide rates in our community, and with this campaign we are intentionally centering their struggle. That said, the violence trans women of color face is tied into the violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and gender non-conforming people face and people of color face while living at the intersections of racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, anti-immigrant bias and other systems of oppression. This campaign is also about Jessie Hernandez, a queer Latina murdered by Denver Police in February. This campaign is about Blake Brockington, a black trans man who committed suicide after enduring endless harassment. And this campaign is about Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Rekia Boyd, Freddie Gray, and the the many other young black individuals who have been killed by police.
In 2011, The National LGBTQ Task Force, together with the National Center for Transgender Equality released “Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of The National Discrimination Survey” which collected the experiences of 6,450 trans and gender non-conforming people from every part of the U.S. It documented, for the first time, the appalling realities of living as a transgender person in our society.
The study also demonstrated the devastating effects on transgender people of color of anti-transgender bias combined with structural racism. Black and Latino/a trans people, who’ve been the targets of nearly all recent anti-trans homicides, also face some of the worst instances of discrimination. Here’s a quick snapshot:
Police: 46% of trans people reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance—and 38% of black trans people and 23% of Latino/a trans people have been harassed by police;
Medical Care: 21% of black trans people and 23% of Latino/a trans people have been refused medical care due to bias;
Workplace Safety: 15% of black trans people and 16% of Latino/a trans people have been physically assaulted at work;
Safety at School: 49% of black respondents and 77% of Latino/a people have been harassed at school;
Access to Housing: 1 in 5 trans people experience homelessness — and 38% of black trans people and 29% of Latino/a trans people have been refused a home or apartment due to bias.
Suicide: In addition to those trans people lost to violence, we have lost countless trans people to suicide. In fact, 41% of trans people who responded to the survey had attempted suicide.
Please download, read, and distribute our reports to help educate yourself and others:
Report on Latino/a Respondents (available in English and Spanish)
Download and share our poster
