On November the 28th 1998, Rita Hester, a trans woman, was murdered in Allston, Massachusetts in the United States.
Rita was brutally stabbed at least 20 times in the chest in her apartment by an unknown assailant. The motive for the attack remains a mystery. The killer did not take any of jewellery Rita had been wearing, and there were no signs of forced entry or anything stolen from her apartment.
Rita Hester's murder, like most murder cases involving trans people has still to be solved, and may never be solved.
In response to her murder, an outpouring of grief and anger led to a candlelit vigil held the following year in San Francisco by many of her friends and transgender activists.
This vigil inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and in turn the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, held on the 20th of November each year.
Now in it's 12th Year the Transgender Day of Remembrance is set aside to remember those who have been killed due to hatred or prejudice because of their trans status.
Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance may have identified as being trans, each was a victim of violence based on hatred and/or bias against trans people.
The deaths of trans people based on hatred or prejudice are largely ignored in the media. Often, if reported at all, it would be found in a small article or column in a newspaper far from the front page.
Over the last decade, on average more than one trans person per month has died due to hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down, particularly in Central and South America where the killings of trans people have sharply increased.
Many of these murders are horrific in nature, from being shot in the head or continuously beaten, to being burned, or even beheaded. These are the kind of murders that should attract a great deal of attention, but rarely do. In fact, these horrendous killings are more commonly ignored by both the news reporting media and the authorities.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes.
It helps to raise public awareness of hate crimes against trans people, something that the media seems unwilling to do.
The Day of Remembrance allows us to publicly mourn and honour the lives of these victims of hate that would otherwise just be forgotten.
Through the events held on that day, we get the chance to express our feelings and to share our respect for people that have died in the face of indifference and hatred, a chance to stand together and remember together.
The Day of Remembrance also helps reminds people who are not trans, that trans people can be their sons, daughters, parents, friends, partners or lovers. They could be your work colleague, neighbour, the person standing next to you in the post office queue or the person sitting next to you on the bus. Just normal everyday people wishing to live their lives free from hatred, violence or abuse.
The Day of Remembrance also gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and for us to stand together, to remember those of us who have died by hatred and violence.
In recent years in the UK several trans people have died due to violence. These are the ones we do know about, although they will be many more that will not get the media coverage necessary. |
