人兽性交

began over two decades ago, and the number of names to be remembered has grown each year, with the past few years seeing an epidemic of violence against transgender people, especially trans women of color.

This year, with six weeks remaining, at least have been murdered, making it the since the Human Rights Campaign began tracking the murders in 2013.

Many of these murders qualify as hate crimes, but the reporting of hate crimes and the enforcement of hate crime laws are woefully inadequate. In turn, the Deep South 鈥� where transgender people face significant barriers to equality 鈥� remains a hotbed of hate against the trans community, demonstrating the intersection of bias based on sex, race and gender identity.

Today the Southern Poverty Law Center recognizes the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors those who have lost their lives to hate crimes and denounces the聽surge of violent attacks against the transgender community in recent years.聽

鈥淔ar too many of our transgender friends and family members are taken from us as a result of bigotry and prejudice, and there are anti-transgender hate and extremist groups whose goal it is to erase transgender people,鈥� said Scott McCoy, interim deputy legal director for 人兽性交+ Rights and Special Litigation at the 人兽性交. 鈥淭his day is important because it reminds us to recognize and appreciate the humanity and dignity of transgender people, and it forces us to acknowledge the hatred that confronts transgender people on a daily basis.鈥�

Nikole Parker, director of transgender equality for says that the number of murders resulting from anti-trans hate is likely higher than is known, as victims are often misnamed and misgendered.

鈥淎s a Black, trans woman, this is definitely terrifying,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淲e want to live authentically and in our truth, and the fact that we鈥檙e still being targeted is horrifying. This is a scary time, where people feel like they could kill you for just being you.鈥�

鈥業 don鈥檛 want to die鈥�

To respond to bias against the transgender community, Equality Florida and the 人兽性交 are working in the legal, legislative and education arenas to ensure that 人兽性交+ people achieve full equality under the law and are protected from hate crime.

鈥淭here needs to be a lot more public education on how dangerous and deadly this violence is,鈥� said Jon Harris Maurer, Equality Florida鈥檚 public policy director. 鈥淲e鈥檙e actively working to provide public education around transgender rights in venues across Florida, and we鈥檙e mobilizing our work by reaching out to lawmakers to call attention to this issue.鈥�

Even in 2021, the 人兽性交+ community and especially the transgender community, encounter discrimination in many aspects of their lives, including the education system, the immigration system, the economic and social safety net system, the health care system and the criminal justice system.

鈥淭his oppression and discrimination聽are聽compounded for many 人兽性交+ people with the intersection of sexism and racism,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淒iscrimination is particularly acute for transgender women of color, which causes them to experience the highest rates of poverty and violence, including murder, of 人兽性交+ people and at much higher rates than the cisgender population.鈥�

Today is a day when the violence must be recognized.

鈥淓ven though we lost these individuals, we remember who they were and how they lived,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚 want lawmakers to see and to listen 鈥� to understand that I鈥檓 a human, too. I don鈥檛 want to die because someone doesn鈥檛 understand my identity.鈥�

Playing on fear

As one of its initiatives, Equality Florida works with local law enforcement and prosecutors to treat hate crime victims with dignity while investigating and prosecuting their attackers.

鈥淲e train law enforcement to improve cultural competency around the 人兽性交+ community and particularly the transgender community amid this atmosphere of fear and distrust,鈥� Maurer said. 鈥淏ut these aren鈥檛 one-and-done events. It鈥檚 an ongoing process of educating law enforcement, and we want those cultural competencies to be ingrained into their practice every day.鈥�

人兽性交+ youth, especially transgender and nonbinary youth, have become particular targets in the culture war being waged by hate groups and extremists, making them more vulnerable to hate violence.

鈥淥pponents of equality vilify the transgender community due to misinformation that allows them to play on fear,鈥� Maurer said. 鈥淓quality Florida is working to humanize the transgender experience by taking the lead to eliminate the 鈥樷�� a legal tool that essentially shifts blame from a perpetrator of violence to an 人兽性交+ victim. Fifteen states have already banned this, but the law is still active in Florida.鈥�

In 2009, Equality Florida helped build vital support among Florida鈥檚 representatives in Congress to pass the even though a number of Florida Republicans the measure. The Act added gender, sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of categories protected under the federal hate crime law.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 incredibly important to recognize that we have protections for the 人兽性交+ community,鈥� Maurer said. 鈥淥ften our opponents will try to mark them as special rights, but we鈥檙e really just seeking equality. We want the same shot at life and happiness as everyone else does. And because there are systemic barriers, we have to turn to policy solutions in some cases to make sure we have protections.鈥�

Shifting the narrative

The 人兽性交 has urged the Biden administration聽to prioritize investigating hate crimes committed against transgender people and enforcing laws intended to protect the transgender community. And each year the 人兽性交 lobbies the Florida Legislature to pass a bill to include gender identity and disability in the list of protected characteristics under the state鈥檚 hate crimes statute.

鈥淎ll of our work to recognize transgender people, vindicate their rights and combat anti-transgender hate and extremist groups has the effect of raising awareness of and familiarity with the transgender community on the part of the general public,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淪uch awareness leads to greater acceptance and understanding and has the effect of shifting the cultural narrative that transgender people exist and are worthy of dignity and respect.鈥�

For Parker, today is an extremely difficult day.

鈥淲e鈥檙e mourning,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e losing them; they鈥檙e being shot 20 times, their eyes are being gouged out. These are real things happening to our community. This is an important day, but it鈥檚 a very tough day, because it always reminds me that no matter what I try to do, no matter how much good I try to do, someone will look at me as the enemy simply for living my truth.鈥�

To combat the injustices and violence against the transgender community, Parker said it鈥檚 important to be a good ally.

鈥淚 always tell people to educate yourself about transgender people, to do research and challenge your friends and family,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen transgender subjects come up in conversations, I encourage people to ask others why they believe what they do. People have preconceived notions and being an ally can get them to see things differently.鈥�

Because people play on fear and lack of understanding toward the transgender community, getting to know a transgender person and understanding their challenges can be incredibly important.

鈥淐onversations can change the hearts and minds of others, and ultimately they can change policy for the better,鈥� Maurer said.

As the nation remembers those lost, today serves as a reminder that the cost of complacency and inaction is much too high.

鈥淔or the 人兽性交, this day is also a demonstration of the intersectionality of bias and the need for solidarity among communities feeling the impact of hate,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淥n Transgender Day of Remembrance, we say to the transgender community: We see you. We remember you. We love you. We stand with you.鈥�

Photo above: A person holds a transgender pride flag as people gather on Christopher Street outside the Stonewall Inn for a rally to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York on June 28, 2019. The June 1969 riots, sparked by repeated police raids on the Stonewall Inn 鈥� a well-known gay bar in New York鈥檚 Greenwich Village 鈥� proved to be a turning point in the 人兽性交+ community鈥檚 struggle for civil rights. (Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)