When is Trans Day of Remembrance and what events are taking place in the UK?
Trans people are highly at risk of violence and discrimination. (Getty)
As attacks against trans people increase across the world, it’s more important than ever to honour and remember the people who have been the victims of violence and discrimination on Transgender Day of Remembrance 2024.
Transgender people of colour are particularly at risk, which is why Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place on 20 November each year.
The day aims to recognise the challenges faced by trans people everywhere, as well as bring attention to those who have been killed or taken their own lives after being discriminated against.
Research by Stonewall and YouGov in 2018 showed that, on average, one in every five trans person had experienced domestic abuse from a partner in the previous year – including 16 per cent of transgender women.
Founded by activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the first remembrance day was observed in 1999 to honour the memory of Rita Hester, who was murdered a year earlier.
“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence, Smith said. “I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights and the right to simply exist is first and foremost.
“With so many seeking to erase transgender people, sometimes in the most brutal ways possible, it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered and that we continue to fight for justice.”
The day has grown into an international day of awareness, activism and mourning, and if you want to remember and honour trans people on this day, you can do so by sharing posts, photos, videos and information on social media about those who have died, and the struggles faced by those still living.
People in the UK can also attend Trans Day of Remembrance 2024 vigils in Derbyshire, Manchester, Reading, Liverpool, Leicester, Newcastle, Stockport, Worcester, Stockton-on-Tees, Norwich and London.
Events are also being held across the US, which is all the more poignant following Donald Trump’s presidential election triumph.
US LGBTQ+ organisation GLAAD and the UK charity Stonewall have resources on their websites for other ways of commemorating the day and helping trans people more generally.
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