Trans Day of Remembrance more important than ever, Sudbury activist says
November 20 is a day to mourn and honour people who died as a result of transphobic violence
This Saturday, Rita OLink of Sudbury, will be thinking of the hundreds of people who have lost their lives to transphobic violence in the past year alone. Like many people around the world, she will be taking time to mourn, and honour their memories.
November 20 marks Trans Day of Remembrance. According to a worldwide research project started by Transgender Europe, 375 trans and gender-diverse people around the world have been reported murdered between October 2020 and September 2021.
"When I hear a number like that it reminds me how dangerous it can be just to be who you are. And you have to watch exactly where you're going, what you're doing, because you never know when somebody's going to take offence to you, and the result can be very tragic," said OLink, herself a trans woman, and a community advocate with the Sudbury support group TG Innerselves.
This year's numbers are the highest since the global research project started tracking the data in 2008. And OLink said it's more important than ever for people to speak out against discrimination and to be an ally to the trans community.
'Attitudes are everything'
OLink said in the last few years, she's noticed a worrying trend. While for a number of years, life seemed to be improving for many trans people, she said in the last three to four years she's noticed a shift.
"There seems to be a resentment and a bias growing against the transgender community and you can hear that in things that people are saying, what they're posting online, and that is a very worrying trend, because attitudes are everything," OLink said.
"If you see attitudes shifting in a negative direction that's going to increase discrimination, which is going to increase bullying, which is going to increase acts of violence, and sooner or later those acts of violence is going to lead to someone being murdered."
She said the most important thing people can do to help make life safer for trans people is to pay attention to their own attitudes, and to call out discriminatory behaviour or comments, whether in person or online.
Virtual event
TG Innerselves typically hosts an in-person event to mark Trans Day of Remembrance. But because of the pandemic, it will instead host a virtual vigil for the second year in a row.
The local event will be held virtually on Wednesday, and while OLink said a lot will be lost by not having it in person, she hopes it still provides an opportunity for people to reflect and mourn together, and look ahead to the challenges to come.
It's time that we acknowledge that, that there is a huge intersection between gender identity and racial profiling.— Rita OLink, trans activist in Sudbury
She also hopes it can provide a lifeline and community resource to people who are not public about their trans identity. The event typically includes two components — a public ceremony, and then a private event where people can be open about their gender identity and receive support in a safe place.
It's something OLink said she herself benefited when she attended the event for several years before she publicly transitioned.
"If it hadn't been for it being private the way it was, there's no way I could have attended, and I wouldn't have been able to make the contacts that helped me through," OLink said.
Despite the drawbacks of a virtual event, OLink hopes to continue to provide that safe space to community members. And, importantly, to honour the memory of those murdered.
OLink said she personally will be thinking in particular about trans women of colour, who are disproportionately affected by violence. According to the worldwide research project, people of colour made up a staggering 89 per cent of the trans people in the US who were killed in the past year.
"It's time that we acknowledge that, that there is a huge intersection between gender identity and racial profiling," OLink said.