At least 32 transgender people killed this year, HRC report says

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Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance and LGBTQ+ communities and allies are honoring the lives of at least 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming people killed in the United States so far in 2022.

The Human Rights Campaign on Wednesday released its annual report which tracks violence against transgender people nationwide. The report confirmed that there were 32 lives lost by Nov. 16 and reported that 81% of the deaths were transgender people of color, Associated Press reports.

Nearly 60% of the victims were Black, and over 80% were women, according to the HRC report.

Since the HRC began documenting fatal violence against transgender people in 2013, the group has recorded at least 302 deaths. Over the years, those slain have been “overwhelmingly Black, under 35 and killed with a firearm,” according to the report, per AP.

“More and more people are starting to realize that there really is this epidemic of violence, and to continue to say their names and tell their stories and talk about this epidemic is one of the first steps that needs to be taken to combat it,” Shoshana Goldberg, director of public education and research at HRC Foundation, told USA Today.

At the time of the report, transgender rights are being hotly debated throughout the political landscape as anti-queer legislation continues to be implemented.

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Transgender people living in America today face disproportionate risk of “housing insecurity, physical violence, police harassment, and anti-trans legislation that denies us fundamental human rights,” according to M4BL, a coalition of advocacy groups that support Black interests.

According to the Williams Institute, transgender people faced the highest poverty rates among LGBTQ+ communities, at nearly 30% in 2019, per USA Today.

“In general, anti-trans stigma leads to denial of opportunities in society: employment discrimination, health care, piratical poverty, homelessness being pushed out of the formal economy into the more informal economy,” Goldberg told USA Today.

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HRC research released earlier in 2022 found that transgender women earn about 60 cents on the dollar compared to “the typical U.S. worker,” as reported by USA Today.

“Today, we are mourning the Black trans, gender-nonconforming, non-binary, and intersex family whom we have lost over the years,” wrote M4BL in a statement regarding Transgender Day of Remembrance.

“As we mourn the lives of those who are now our trans ancestors, we still hold space to celebrate their lives, joyful existence, and impact on each of our worlds,” the coalition added.

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