HRC is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman who was killed in Allendale County, South Carolina, on August 4.

Doe was found dead with gunshot wounds in a car parked in a driveway, according to reports from the Post and Courier. Further details about her death have not been released, but police are urging anyone with information to contact their local law enforcement.

Doe’s friends and family remembered her on social media as having a “bright personality” and being someone who “showed love” and who was “the best to be around.” Another friend wrote, “If I knew Friday was my last time seeing you, I would have hugged you even tighter.”

Tragically, Doe’s death is the 15th known case of deadly violence against the transgender community in 2019, and the second in South Carolina in the last few weeks alone. On July 20, Denali Berries Stuckey, also a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in North Charleston.

As occurs far too often in the reporting of anti-transgender violence, initial reports also misgendered and misnamed Doe in coverage of the crime, delaying HRC’s awareness of her death.

Anti-transgender stigma is exacerbated by callous or disrespectful treatment too often seen from media, law enforcement and our highest elected officials. In the pursuit of greater accuracy and respect, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others who report on transgender people.

The Alliance For Full Acceptance, a social justice organization advocating on behalf of LGBTQ people in Charleston and South Carolina, and South Carolina Equality, a civil and human rights organization advocating for LGBTQ South Carolinians, have both released statements mourning Doe’s death. HRC joins both groups in sounding the alarm on violence targeting the transgender community, particularly Black transgender women.

In November, ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance, HRC Foundation released “A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America in 2018,” a heartbreaking report honoring the trans people killed and detailing the contributing and motivating factors that lead to this tragic violence. Of the more than 140 known victims of anti-transgender violence from 2013 to present, approximately two-thirds of those killed were victims of gun violence.

It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive.

This epidemic of violence that disproportionately targets transgender people of color -- particularly Black transgender women -- must cease.

For more information about HRC’s transgender justice work, visit hrc.org/Transgender.