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TDOR: Honouring the victims of anti-transgender violence

LETTER | On Nov 20, the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), we remember all the trans people and gender diverse people who have been subjected to murder and violence based on gender identity and gender expression.

On TDOR, we remember and honour their lives, and we continue to seek justice and end violence against trans and gender diverse people based on their gender identity and gender expression.

According to updates by Transgender Europe, 325 cases of murder of trans and gender diverse persons were reported between October 2016 and September 2017. This year’s update shows an increase of 30 cases from last year.

In total between January 2008 and September 2017, a total of 2,609 trans and gender diverse people were reported killed in 71 countries. Out of the total reported cases, 231 reported cases come from Asia.

In Malaysia, three cases of murder of trans women were reported in 2017. Two out of the three cases were reported in the media, and the trans women were subjected to misgendering or the use of wrong gender pronouns, terms or labels, description and name in the media. In addition, the outcomes of the investigation of these cases have yet to be seen.

Feb 2017: Sameera Krishnan was brutally attacked, shot, tortured, mutilated and found dead in Pahang. Her case was reportedly investigated by the police. However, outcomes of the case are unknown.

May 2017: An unnamed trans woman was found dead in her bedroom with both wrists bound with hairdryer wire and mobile phone charger cable in Kuala Lumpur. The body was found approximately 4 days after her death due to the smell of decay.

Aug 2017: A 22-year-old trans woman was reportedly murdered in Kuala Lumpur. This case did not appear in the media.

We also remember and highlight the case of a Thai trans woman in Penang in May 2017. The woman, who is also a sex worker, sustained severe injuries and was almost killed due to multiple stabbings with a knife by a client over allegedly expensive rates.

Between 2007 and 2016, at least 10 cases of murder have been reported in the media. In these 10 cases, the trans women were subjected to brutal violence, including being beaten to death with a hammer, strangled, gagged, stabbed multiple times, physically assaulted, pushed from a building, drowned in a water retention pond, etc.

It is important to note that these are reported cases of murder, hate crimes, and violence. There are many cases of hate crimes, murder and violence that go unreported (due to fear of reprisal or further violence, lack of trust in law enforcement agencies to investigate cases, lack of serious and meaningful investigation of cases, lack of friendly and inclusive reporting mechanism, among others), unnoticed (due to misgendering in the media among others) and silenced (due to shame by family members, fear of media sensationalisation, among others).

The violence experienced by trans and gender diverse people does not happen in a vacuum and it correlates with the broader discriminatory laws, policies, misinformation regarding gender identity and trans people, lack of positive and affirming representation in the media among many other factors.

The criminalisation of trans people increases barriers for trans people to access justice and continues to marginalise trans people. In addition, the lack of inclusive, sensitive and friendly redress mechanisms further limit access to justice for trans and gender diverse persons.

We believe that the marginalisation and violence against trans and gender diverse persons must end, and we can end it together. We call everyone to light a candle for all trans and gender diverse people have been subjected to murder and hate crime this 20th November.


The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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