Staff Reports
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 32 transgender individuals have reportedly been murdered in the US since the beginning of the year. This brings the total number of violent deaths the organization has recorded over the past decade to more than 300.
Since 2013, the Human Rights Campaign has noted that over 300 transgender individuals have been murdered in the US. Many of these deaths were carried out due to anti-transgender bias.
The organization noted that over 80 percent of the victims over the past decade were people of color. Also, over 70% of them were under 35 years old.
The report also noted that over two-thirds of the violent deaths of transgender individuals since 2013 involved a firearm. A recent study conducted by Everytown for Gun Safety revealed that a firearm was used in over 70% of transgender homicides in 2017.
The report was released on Wednesday, the same day that transgender awareness week is celebrated each year. It also coincides with the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which takes place on November 20.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, the annual event is a time for transgender and non-binary individuals to come together to mourn the loss of their loved ones.
In a statement, the organization's President, Tom Cooper, said that the number of transgender individuals who have been murdered over the past decade is a grim reminder of the need for more legal equality. He also called on transgender people to join the fight for their rights.
The report released by the Human Rights Campaign also noted that during the year, state lawmakers introduced over 140 bills aimed at restricting the rights of transgender individuals. The organization noted that 17 of these have already been enacted.
Some conservative individuals also believe that providing transgender individuals with gender-affirming medical treatment, such as hormones and puberty blockers, amounts to abuse.
In September, the Boston Children's Hospital was placed on lockdown after an unidentified bomb threat was made. A woman from Massachusetts was then arrested in connection with the incident. The bomb threat was later determined to be a hoax.
Several hospitals across the country have also received threats. The staff members and patients of these facilities were reportedly afraid for their safety due to the harassment they received.
According to Shoshana Goldberg, a research and education director at the HRC Foundation, this year has seen an unprecedented amount of negativity directed toward transgender and non-binary individuals, as well as their loved ones, medical providers, and political figures. She noted that these issues cannot be separated from the ongoing violence against them.
The report also noted that over the past decade, over 15 transgender individuals have been murdered while they were in police custody. These victims were often in jails, prisons, or immigration detention centers.
The report noted that in 40% of cases, the killer is still at large. The majority of victims were killed by people they knew. Around 65% of them were murdered by someone they knew, while 10% were killed by a family member or intimate partner. More than one-third of the victims were murdered by a friend.
The researchers of the report noted that the actual number of transgender individuals who have been murdered is likely much higher. They also said that the statistics released by the organization undercount the violence against them.
The report also noted that over 70% of the transgender individuals who were murdered this year were misgendered by the media or the police.
A similar investigation was conducted in Oregon last month, where it was revealed that over half of the transgender individuals who died between 2011 and 2021 had their death certificates mislabeled.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on The Daily Cable.
