In 2018, advocates tracked at least 26 deaths of transgender people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women. These victims were killed by acquaintances, partners and strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified. Some of these cases involve clear anti-transgender bias. In others, the victim’s transgender status may have put them at risk in other ways, such as forcing them into unemployment, poverty, homelessness and/or survival sex work.
While the details of these cases differ, it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities, barriers that make them vulnerable. HRC Foundation’s “Dismantling a Culture of Violence” report demonstrates how anti-transgender stigma, denial of opportunity and increased risk factors compound to create a culture of violence – and provides clear ways that each of us can directly make an impact to make our society a safer place for transgender people.
As is too often the case in the reporting of anti-transgender violence, many of these victims are misgendered in local police statements and media reports, which can delay our awareness of deadly incidents. In the pursuit of greater accuracy and respect for transgender and gender expansive people in both life and death, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others who report on transgender people.
Sadly, 2019 has already seen at least eight transgender people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. As HRC continues to work toward justice and equality for transgender people, we mourn those we have lost:
On June 7th, Layleen Cubilette Polanco Xtravaganza, a Black Latinx trans woman was found dead in her cell on rikers island, the women’s division. No details on her death have been released. I’m so disturbed. I feel like I’m in a virtual reality. I knew Layleen growing up. I Remember desiring to be beautiful like her. She was cool, and funny too, like all of us she had dreams of escaping poverty and the misery of social ostricisation. She is the 10th trans woman to die this year. No one knows if it was a murder, or how she died but this is the closest black trans death has ever gotten to me and this is extremely alarming and traumatic. As you all know the trans community is extremely small, we feel every loss and we often all know someone who knew somebody murdered. By initiation of the trump administration, the supreme Court is debating RIGHT NOW on whether trans people deserve to be a federally protected demographic, to equal access legal aid, employment, shelter, healthcare, and employment they are hearing our cases on why we deserve human rights. Our current administration is sending a legislative message that trans peoples lives don’t matter and that is encouraging people to take our lives, it’s making our deaths go uninvestigated. (source)
Last Saturday a young transgender woman’s body was found in a lake in Dallas, Texas. The police identified her as 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey shortly afterwards.It was later confirmed that Ms Lindsey had been killed - city police chief U Reneé Hall told reporters two days later that her body had exhibited “obvious signs of homicidal violence”.Such killings are not uncommon. Ms Lindsey was the second black trans woman in Dallas to be killed within the last three weeks, and the third over the past year.Asked whether it was possible a serial killer was targeting these women, Ms Reneé Hall said that “right now, we don’t have the evidence to substantiate that”, but urged members of the trans community to “stay vigilant”. Because of the scale of the problem, she added, the department has asked the FBI for assistance.Whether or not a serial killer is behind the attacks, Chynal’s death has highlighted an insidious truth - that trans women of colour in the US are disproportionately at risk of being killed. (source)
On 18 May, 22-year-old trans woman Muhlaysia Booker was found dead on a street near a golf course in Dallas, having been fatally shot. Her death came a month after a group of men attacked her, filmed it, and posted the footage on social media. (source)
Claire Legato, 21, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Cleveland on April 15. Local media reports that Legato was shot in the head after an argument broke out between her mother and the suspect. She was taken to a nearby hospital and died from her injuries on May 14. Friends and family took to social media to mourn Legato’s death, remembering her as someone who was “full of life.” (source)
Dana Martin, an Alabama transgender woman, was found dead on Jan. 6 near Montgomery. The 31-year-old Hope Hull resident is the first known transgender person to be killed so far this year. (source)
Michelle ‘Tamika’ Washington, 40, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Philadelphia on May 19. Police responded to reports of shots fired in North Philadelphia’s Franklinville neighborhood, according to the Philadelphia Gay News. Washington, who was also known by the name Tameka, was found with several gunshot wounds and transported to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She is remembered by friends and loved ones as a beloved sister and “gay mother.” (source)
Paris Cameron, 20, a Black transgender woman, was among three people killed in a horrific anti-LGBTQ shooting in a home in Detroit on May 25, according to local reports. Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, two gay men, were found dead at the scene and Cameron was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries. Two other victims were also shot but survived. “This case illustrates the mortal danger faced by members of Detroit’s LGBTQ community, including transgender women of color,“ Fair Michigan President Alanna Maguire said. (source)
Chanel Scurlock, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found fatally shot in Lumberton, North Carolina, on June 6. Few details are yet public about the crime, but police told a local news outlet they have “great leads” in their investigation. “RIP baby,” wrote a friend on Facebook. “You [lived] your life as you wanted. I’m proud of you for being unapologetically correct about your feelings and expectations of YOU.” (source)
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