Transphobic crimes up by a THIRD in the US

[Ayla]

Crimes against the trans community have risen significantly.
Hate crime statistics released by the FBI on Monday revealed a shocking increase in violence and threats against transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
Transphobic attacks are up from 31 incidents in 2013 to 98 in 2014.

However, trans rights activists say the actual figure could be much higher.
“We assume that this is the minimum of what’s happened,” Sarah Warbelow, the legal director for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), told Quartz.
“There were murders every day in January and February,” added Kylar Broadus, the founder and executive director of the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC).

“It was just overwhelmingly scary. By March we had more deaths than we had had in all of 2014.”
Yesterday, the world remembered the 271 trans people murdered over the past twelve months – 85% of whom are believed to be American.
Trans Day of Remembrance is held to remember people who have died as a result of their actual or perceived transgender identity.
The murders took place between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015.
Most note that the list is almost definitely longer, but many homicides against trans people go unreported.
The number of those killed has gone up from last year’s report which showed that 226 trans people were murdered.   

www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/11/21/transphobic-crimes-up-by-a-third-in-the-us/    

[Leena]

Should one really be scared by these numbers? While I think zero is the only acceptable number, this is overall not that big of a number. If I do what I am constantly contemplating, and just live as the non-passing trans woman I will likely always be, even if I did do HRT and FFM, will my chance of getting murdered be that much higher than being the gay male which I am generally read as, even if it is inaccurate? The last time I was a victim of a violent crime, I had one of my most butch looks ever, but that didn't stop the muggers from beating me up and taking my wallet because they wanted my money. This sort of thing happens way more often, and I'm much more concerned about that happening again than some transphobic crime. Am I that wrong in thinking about it this way?

[Ayla]

VL you can never be criticised for taking a positive view, but crimes targeting the trans community are increasing, and/or they are now being better recorded. I think that when the incidence of crime targeting a particular group is materially increasing then there is a problem. In some areas like Detroit it is out of control. But the message needs to be that it is not ok for the numbers to be increasing. The percentage looks pretty high and I think that we deserve to feel as secure as the next person, rather than less secure than other groups.

I suspect, but have not done the work, that many trans folk are marginalised and make easy targets. This is not ok regardless of ethnicity, age, religion or social status.

[Leena]

In tending to taking the positive view, more and more people are doing like me and going out as who we are rather than faking being something else. That there is some backlash is to be expected, that sometimes the backlash is murder is horrible, and again zero is the only acceptable number.

I still can't let this rising, though relatively low number, make me retreat to being the afraid to go outside of the house as me person I was not too long ago. I'd rather die as one of the victims, than live only in a self-imposed home-prison as myself...the more people go out despite this and are in public the less marginalized we are.

[Ayla]

These figures should not scare or intimidate us but we should use them to raise awareness of our rights and our lived experience. I think living authentically is a great strategy as we become less unusual and folk become more comfortable with us

[Trinity]

Nov 24, 2015 12:42:02 GMT 8 Leena said:

Should one really be scared by these numbers? While I think zero is the only acceptable number, this is overall not that big of a number. If I do what I am constantly contemplating, and just live as the non-passing trans woman I will likely always be, even if I did do HRT and FFM, will my chance of getting murdered be that much higher than being the gay male which I am generally read as, even if it is inaccurate? The last time I was a victim of a violent crime, I had one of my most butch looks ever, but that didn't stop the muggers from beating me up and taking my wallet because they wanted my money. This sort of thing happens way more often, and I'm much more concerned about that happening again than some transphobic crime. Am I that wrong in thinking about it this way?

I was mugged 7 times in ny when i was young. I learned to be street smart.

Now i go out nb, and literally transition on the train. Peel off guy clothes on the street or train, put the feather in and start the makeup.

If they look they get a level look back, and they get uncomfortable and look away. Mostly i dont make eye contact to begin with, im not sending street vulnerability signals out. I send ..this is my space im taking it..signals out.

One of our nb aa members gave up on passing, has a guy haircut and changes into a dress in their car. They look guy, talk guy, act guy, and are trans. They have the balls to live their truth.

We learn street smarts. I get hypervigilant but now i relax.

Yeah its where you are and how you carry yourself. Not walking into lions dens and having your head on.

Great dialogue here...curious about others thoughts.

Some places are safer than others. Im glad i moved here. Fl was similar though.

They read me sir so you know its not passing as she. It looks real and not fake, they dont challenge that.

Trinity