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Post by Lily on Nov 6, 2021 23:23:02 GMT
I know the subject might not be something we want to talk about, but this had been a concern in the back of my mind, and perhaps in others that might read this.
The video below was made by Verilybitchie. In it she talks about the Trans Day of Remembrance, which takes place on November 20th, and takes a close look at the murder rates within our trans community.
As someone who plans to transition, this video eased my mind on this particular issue.
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Post by Jessica on Nov 7, 2021 15:00:26 GMT
I didn't know specifically about this, but it sadly doesn't surprise me. I knew violence against trans people is a problem. Trans youth too. Makes me hate the human race.
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Post by Lily on Nov 7, 2021 17:03:13 GMT
I didn't know specifically about this, but it sadly doesn't surprise me. I knew violence against trans people is a problem. Trans youth too. Makes me hate the human race. Sorry if I'm assuming you haven't had a chance to watch this. The major point that Verily makes in it is that a large proportion of those that were tragic victims of violence were killed for reasons other than being trans, that they were already in a high risk group. This seems terribly de-humanising to talk about in the following terms, but the murder rates in the US amongst BIPOC and sex workers are at a much higher rate than the overall murder rate. However for trans people the murder rate is lower than the average. Rather tellingly 90% of trans women that were killed in the US in 2019 were BIPOC, and 61% were sex workers. Verily makes the point that if you could erase all the transphobia in the universe (wouldn't that be nice) then these women would have still been at a high risk of violence against them. She goes on to make the point that there are of course a lot of issues and problems that trans people face just for being trans, but that an increased chance of being murdered isn't one of them. I'd make the point that that the combination of these issues affects mental health and increases the risk of suicide, and that is a hugely more significant issue for the trans community. It is notable that the Trans Day of Remembrance is only to commemerate the deaths of those that were murdered, and not those that committed suicide. To be clear all those women commemorated on TDOR deserve to be remembered. I am discussing how best the trans community and the wider world should really view the motivations for the violence that led to their tragic deaths.
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Post by Jessica on Nov 8, 2021 15:52:04 GMT
Perhaps the problem is, then, that so many trans women end up as sex workers and maybe that is the issue that needs addressing?
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Post by Lily on Nov 8, 2021 20:01:37 GMT
From a purely trans perspective yes. I'm just going from what Verily is saying, but you're less likely to be employed if you're openly trans. So in a lot of cases the only work available for trans women in poverty is sex work, and that puts them at a far far greater risk. Reduce transphobia and they're more likely to find work that doesn't have that risk.
From a wider perspective, reducing racial prejudice and ending the de-humanisation of sex workers would also make the world safer for those groups, and by extension trans folk too.
Of course this is all "only" about being murdered, and not about the physical and verbal harassment and microaggressions that cis people inflict on trans people.
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Post by Jessica on Nov 9, 2021 14:39:02 GMT
For sure. That makes sense!
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Post by Lily on Nov 23, 2021 22:11:18 GMT
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