Transgender Europe's Transrespect Transphobia project reports "Most reported cases were from Central and South America, which amount to 643 cases in 21 countries and account for roughly 80 % of the globally reported murders of trans people since January 2008. In this region, there has been the strongest increase in reports (2008: 94, 2009: 165, 2010: 180, and 2011: 204)."
"The new result update moreover reveals that in the last 4 years, 59 killings of trans people have been reported in Asia (2008: 12, 2009: 14, 2010: 16, 2011: 17), 53 killings have been reported in North America (2008: 18, 2009: 13, 2010: 8, 2011: 14), 53 in Europe (2008: 13, 2009: 19, 2010: 9, 2011: 12), 4 in Oceania (2008: 3, 2009: 1) as well as 4 in Africa (2008: 1, 2009: 2. 2011: 1)."
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| Photo TGEU Click to enlarge |
We are rebels living our gender revolution. In many countries such as Canada our right to life to larger degree is respected. That has come about through decades of effort and sacrifice which is not to say the battle is over in Canada.
In the US, like many European countries, we have found marginal success. The US still holds the distinction as a leader in the numbers of murdered, many being victims of unemployment, drugs and prostitution by no fault of there own. Much of the progress there is localized but the domino effect of perceived acceptability helps us in neighboring states.
South America is currently on the cutting edge of the transgender sword. There have been unconscionable amount of trans murders of our southern community in the past years and it seems as if this sad trend is continuing unabated.
Many factors contribute to the numbers. One, our sisters and brothers are openly transitioning despite north American's religious rights increasing presence and influence. Two the drug wars, fueled with US dollars places many of our family directly in the line of fire.
There's no language barriers so when we are murdered in South America the world knows it.
Africa has one of the fewest reported trans murders. Again there are many reasons. Most of Africa's social climate does not allow for a person's gender to be perceived as anything other than cisnormal. In some countries such as Uganda it's a death warrant. Again, there is not many reported murders because the press won't even acknowledge us when we are alive, let alone dead.
Russia has two reported murders. Vladimir Putin and his partners in the Orthodox Church have crushed the trans community throwing our progress back centuries. This is particularly disheartening to me personally as a former cold war soldier. It has taken years of beating of LGBT activists by police to attain that brief visibility, now they are being cut off from the rest of the world, again.
The subcontinent. India's trans population is struggling mightily against embedded societal bigotry and they are winning. Neighboring countries trans populations seem to have more work to catch up.
China has only six reported murders but that can be attributed to there being so very few who have dared to transition in the country. Combined with state censorship and little access in the world wide Internet leaves our family's progress there in a perpetual stall.
Oceania apparently is leading the world in the battle against transphobia. There have only been four reported murders in this region with such excellent access to media.
So there are many contributing factors worldwide that lead to the incredibly high numbers of trans murders, but none more so than our willingness to take the risk, to put our lives on the line so the next genderations may thrive.
Rebel on!
1 comment:
Reading this reminds me of the Reconstruction in the US. During the decade or so following the Civil War, the first African-Americans were elected to public office and entered various professions. During that time, the Ku Klux Klan was formed and the burnings and lynchings of African Americans began in earnest.
Also, the KKK ramped up their activities during the 1920's when, in the wake of World War I, the Great Migration began from the rural South to the urban North and African-Americans became prominent in various areas of the arts and education. And there was yet another revival of the KKK and lynchings during the Civil Rights movement.
So, the fact that there would be so much violence against us, and that so many of us would be killed, just as the notion of transgender equality is gaining some traction, is hardly a surprise, as much as it pains me to say that.
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