Two Black trans women murdered. Their names were Unique Banks and Destiny Howard
The killing of two Black trans women in separate incidents in the United States has been confirmed.
Unique Banks, a 21-year-old trans woman from Chicago, is thought to be the third transgender person to be violently killed in the US so far in 2023.
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reports that Banks was killed on Monday (23 January) in a mass shooting that also took the life of her mother, Alexsandra Olmo.
Olmoās boyfriend and two other trans women were hospitalised following the attack.
Banksā father, Omar Burgos, wrote on social media that his āheart is torn apartā by her death.
āUnique Banks was just 21 years old, and she was killed in a horrific mass shooting that also targeted her family and friends,ā said Tori Cooper, HRC director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative.
āThe rate of gun violence in this country is out of control. It tears families apart and leaves communities grieving and traumatised.
āWe know from other countries that tighter gun laws work to dramatically reduce firearm related deaths. Lawmakers must act to end the violence.ā
The HRC reported that Banks is the third trans or gender non-conforming person to be violently killed in 2023 so far, adding that the real number could be higher as trans people are often misgendered in death, or their deaths go unreported.
The death of another trans woman has only recently been counted among those lost to anti-trans violence in 2022 following her death in December, due to initial reports misgendering and deadnaming her.
Destiny Howard, 23, was killed in Georgia last month in a fatal shooting, according to Them.
She was reportedly shot in a car park and pronounced dead at the scene by police.
Cooper of HRC said it was āheartbreaking to learn of yet another young, Black trans woman whose life was taken by gun violenceā.
āInitial reports of Destinyās death misgendered her, denying her the dignity to be seen as she truly was,ā Cooper added.
āOur society must recognise that trans women are women and that their lives have worth, and work to end the violence that takes far too many of our lives.ā
On Trans Day of Remembrance last year it was reported that at least 32 trans people had been violently killed in America between January and November 2022.
HRC said in a statement: āIn 2022, weāve seen at least 32 transgender and gender non-conforming people killed in an epidemic of violence threatening our community.
āThese victims had families and friends, hopes and dreams. None of them deserved to have their lives stolen by horrific violence.
āMost of the victims were Black trans women, a tragedy that reflects an appalling trend of violence fuelled by racism, toxic masculinity, misogyny and transphobia and the politicisation of our lives.ā
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