Transgender Day of Remembrance held today to remember those killed by transphobic violence
November 20th marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, and thousands of people are expected to come together across the globe to mourn the lives of those in the transgender community as a result of their gender identity.
A long list of participating venues is available on the TDoR website, as vigils are being held internationally in London, San Francisco, New Orleans and Iceland where names of victims of anti-trans violence will be read out.
The site also includes a frighteningly long memorial list of trans people killed in the past year.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the vigils which remember those lost to violence because of their gender identity.
The events were first held in 1998, the following the murder of Rita Hester, a transgender African American woman in Massachusetts.
Campaigners continue to warn figures, already high, are likely to be higher as transphobic crime remains underreported – and not all jurisdictions document or treat the cases accordingly.
It has since become a landmark event in the calendar of many, and attendees can expect to see speakers, performed are services of remembrance at the vigils.
Every three days a transgender person is killed somewhere in the world.
2016 is so far the deadliest year on record for transgender folk in the US as we reach an all-time high for the number of transgender people murdered in the US.
According to GLAAD, the number of trans people murdered in 2016 has already reached 24, compared to the 22 trans people registered as murdered in 2015.
However, this number is not official or precise as so many trans people are misgendered on their death certificates.