» Transgender Deaths Commemorated in Brighton & Hove
Brighton & Hove will be holding a Transgender Day of Remembrance event hosted by the Clare Project on Sunday November 21st, 2010 at 2:30 5pm at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church.
A candle-lit vigil will be accompanied by the reading of names of the victims of transgender hate crime over the past year. All are welcome to attend. From Friday 19th November, the main windows of Jubilee Library will host a memorial photography exhibition featuring victims of transphobic hate crime.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who have been killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honour Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the Remembering Our Dead web project and a candlelight vigil in 1999. Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.
We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred-based violence. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people and allows us to publicly mourn and honour the lives of those who might otherwise be forgotten. The vigil, expresses love and respect for transgender people in the face of widespread indifference and hatred. The Day of Remembrance also gives everyone, including non-transgender people, a chance to step forward and stand as allies against anti-transgender violence.
Dorset Gardens Methodist Church?
Dorset Gardens Brighton?
BN2 1RL?
United Kingdom?
Map link here
The Clare Project website: www.clareproject.org.uk?
More information: eric.page@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Elizabeth Noble of Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard said:
In our society there can be severe consequences for anyone whose identity challenges narrow, traditional ideas about gender. At Switchboard we know that our transgender friends and service users are often at the sharpest end of this reality, with some regularly experiencing prejudice, rejection, isolation and violence. The Transgender Day of Remembrance honours those who have been killed because they were brave enough to be themselves. Its also a chance to reflect on what we lose as a society when we limit ourselves with rigid gender definitions and impose them on others with hatred and violence.
