In honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance today (November 20), the Transgender Murder Monitoring Project released an update on how many transgender people were murdered between October 2017 and September 2018, reported Gay Star News.
The Trans Day of Remembrance update highlights 368 transgender, non-binary, and gender-variant people who were murdered in the last 12 months. Of these 368, five were beheaded and nine were stoned to death.
The largest group murdered were trans women of color, who were often shot or beaten to death.
Brazil and Mexico lead the list with the most reported trans murders, with 167 and 71 respectively.
There have been 28 transgender people killed in the United States. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 82 percent of them were women of color, 64 percent were younger than 35, and 55 percent lived in the South.
62 percent of those killed were sex workers, including Azul “Blue” Montoro, who was killed in Cordoba, Argentina, and Vanesa Campos, who was shot by a mob in Paris after attempting to protect one of her clients from being mobbed.
Because of misgendering and deadnaming of trans victims by police and the media, it’s difficult to know exactly how many trans people have actually been victims of such violence. HRC reported that 74 percent of victims were misgendered in initial police or media reports.
Lukas Berredo, from Transrespect vs Transphobia Worldwide, explained the meaning and importance of Trans Day of Remembrance to Gay Star News.
“Trans Day of Remembrance is a date in which we remember and honor the trans and gender-diverse people whose lives have been taken away from us,” he said. “It is a mourning day, and it is also a day to be together with our communities, to keep existing and resisting.”
View a full list of the transgender and gender non-conforming individuals who lost their lives this year here.