Today Is International Transgender Day of Remembrance

Today is the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is a day that has been set aside to honor the memory of our transgender friends, family members, neighbors, and acquaintances, both near and far, whose lives have been tragically cut short due to prejudice or transphobia.

While we celebrate marriage equality victories across the country, it’s easy to turn a blind eye to the hardships that the transgender community must contend with on a daily basis.
Here are some sobering facts to consider.

• Transgender people are often targeted for hate violence based on their non-conformity with gender norms and/or their perceived sexual orientation.

• Although social acceptance for transgender people is growing, parents continue to abandon youth with gender-identity issues when their children need them most, according to transgender advocates.

• Transgender youth whose parents pressure them to conform to their anatomical gender report higher levels of depression, illegal drug use, suicide attempts and unsafe sex than peers who receive little or no pressure from parents.

• 49 per cent of transgender people attempt suicide.

• 1 in 12 transgender people in America is murdered.

• The murder rate of transgender persons is 17 times the national average; the highest rate of any minority group.

• The Los Angeles Human Relations Commission indicated that 100% of hate crimes against transgender persons in Los Angeles County were violent; the highest rate of any reported group.

Whether you know someone who is transgender or not, I hope that you can find a place in your heart to appreciate the challenges that the transgender community faces in their daily lives. That’s why increasing awareness of their challenges, together with the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, is important.

Transgender individuals have the same rights to live, work, and contribute to society as everyone else.

The pursuit of happiness is not solely the province of Christians, or heterosexual members of society. The pursuit of happiness is everyone’s right, and sometimes the rest of society needs to be reminded of that fact.

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