2021 a deadly year for transgender people: HRC
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) declared the year 2021 as the deadliest yet on record for transgender people.
In the past year, at least 50 transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals have been shot dead or died by violent means, the LGBT human rights advocacy group, reported.
In 2020, there were 44 reported deaths of transgender or gender-nonconforming people.
Since 2013, the HRC has been recording reports of violence against transgender people. Majority of these targeted black and latinx transgender women.
HRC: Transgender people are real people also
The number of those killed this year could even be more as others could have gone unreported or misreported, HRC said in a statement.
This is because almost 80 percent of deaths involving transgender people included initial misgendering by media or law enforcement.
The HRC noted that “many of these victims are misgendered in local police statements and media reports, which can delay our awareness of deadly incidents.”
“They were real people — people who did not deserve to have their lives taken from them,” they said.
Bias, discrimination against transgender people
The HRC said that many of the transgender victims were killed by their “acquaintances, partners or 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,” they pointed out.
They further noted that the victim’s transgender or gender non-conforming status may have put them at risk in other ways.
These includes forcing them into unemployment, poverty, homelessness and/or survival sex work.
Lower clearance for violent transgender cases
Speaking to NBC, Brendan Lantz, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University, said the transgender community also face a problem in bringing their cases in court.
That’s because fatal anti-transgender violence cases face a lower clearance rate of around 44 percent for arrests or court prosecution.
However, the national average is around 60 percent to 70 percent, according to data gathered by Lantz.
“Witnesses are less likely to come forward, and a lot of issues enter the equation,” Lantz said.
US southern states implementing anti-transgender laws
NBC News also reported that a disproportionate percentage of fatal violence against transgender people was recorded in the southeast region of the US.
In those areas, many southern states have already rolled out laws targeting transgender youth.
These laws include preventing transgender girls from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity.
Other laws ban the use of gender confirmation treatments for transgender youth, like puberty blockers.