Trans Day of Remembrance

Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is an annual observance to recognize those who have died due to ignorance and hatred, targeted because they were trans or gender non-conforming. The first event took place in 1999 in San Francisco to honour Rita Hester, who had been brutally murdered the previous year.

Violence and discrimination are all too common experiences for our trans siblings. A 2014 report based on surveys and interviews of trans people in Ontario found that: 

• 20% had been physically or sexually assaulted for being trans, and another 34% had been verbally threatened or harassed but not assaulted
• two-thirds of trans people have avoided public spaces or situations because they feared harassment
• 43% have attempted suicide
• 13% of trans workers have been fired for being trans, and another 15% were fired and believe it might be because they were trans
• 18% have been turned down for a job because they were trans, and another 32% suspect that this is why they were turned down

Windermere has been marking TDoR for a number of years. This year, we took our commemoration outside in a public act of remembrance.