November 20th 2015 is Transgender Day of Remembrance. According to the TDoR website, this day was “set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.”
Based on a prosperity ranking out of Norway released in the last month, Canadian news sources reported Canada as the most tolerant country in the world. Vancouver is often held up as a safe-haven for LGBTQIA+ communities, but this city’s track record on acceptance is far from perfect. Just this week, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled in favour of a transgender woman who accused the Vancouver Police Department of using incorrect pronouns and depriving her post-surgical care while being held in prison. Earlier this year, LGBTQIA+ students at Simon Fraser University staged a “shit-in” to protest the lack of gender neutral bathrooms on campus. Trans* activism continues in Vancouver, and events around the city this week are advancing the conversation around trans* equality.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was started following the 1998 murder of Rita Hester, a transgender woman of colour who was brutally murdered in her apartment. Her murder, like those of so many transgender and gender variant folks, remains unsolved. Transgender and gender variant people, especially trans* women of colour, are up to 4 times more likely to be murdered than cis-gendered people. Assault and harassment experienced by trans* and gender-variant people are under-reported due in part to a history of police transphobia the world over, so statistics on violence experienced by trans* people generally skew low.
November 20th honours those we have lost, and draws attention to the work that still needs to be done to ensure equality and safety for all.
For special programming on CiTR in honour of Transgender Day of Remembrance, tune in to the following shows:
Mantra Radio, Saturday 5-6pm
Queer FM, Tuesday 8-10:30am
Tick Talk, Thursday 7:30-8pm
Dave Radio with Radio Dave, Friday 12-1pm
Femconcept Friday 1-2pm
News 101 Friday 5-6pm
Lady Radio Friday 6-7pm
You can also join The Pride Collective at UBC, the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC), and the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office for a week of discussion, expression, and resistance. Click for more information.
Click here for information on the Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial March and Vigil in Vancouver.
Resources for LGBTQIA+ at UBC:
https://students.ubc.ca/campus/diversity/sexual-orientation
https://www.gotconsent.ca/
https://www.prideubc.com/content/
Image: https://tithenai.tumblr.com/post/13068658245/transday