WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF), the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, and its Public Education and Research program published “The Epidemic of Violence Against the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community in the United States,” a report released in advance of Trans Day of Remembrance to memorialize the lives of the transgender and gender nonconforming people killed this year and shed light on the ongoing epidemic of violence against transgender and gender-expansive people. In addition to the Fatal Violence report, we are releasing an updated version of our Dismantling a Culture of Violence report, which highlights the determinants of the fatal violence epidemic and provides actionable steps on how allies can help make the world a safer place for transgender and gender expansive people.

Since 2013, HRCF has recorded the deaths of 372 transgender and gender-expansive victims of fatal violence–including at least 36 deaths in the last 12 months (from after Transgender Day of Remembrance 2023, or November 21, 2023, through November 20, 2024). This is a slight increase from the 2022-2023 time period, wherein 33 victims were identified. We say “at least,” as many deaths often go unreported or misreported, or misgendering of victims leads to delays in their identification. Through our ongoing tracking efforts, we’ve seen that of the 36 people we lost in the last year an overwhelming amount were young and people of color, with Black trans women disproportionately impacted. Many victims were killed by a friend, family, or romantic/sexual intimate partner, and guns were involved in the majority of cases.

“The hate towards transgender and gender expansive community members is fueled by disinformation, rhetoric and ideology that treats our community as political pawns ignoring the fact that we deserve the opportunity to live our lives fully without fear of harm or death,” said Tori Cooper Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “Over half of the victims reported were Black trans women, a disturbing reality that reflects the trend of violence that continues to plague our community which disproportionately faces racism, misogynoir, sexism, transphobia and a myriad of other societal issues. In spite of these tragedies, I choose to remember the beauty brought to the world by those victims who left this earth far too soon and will celebrate their memories by continuing to fight for them through the Trans Justice Initiative’s advocacy and our leadership development work.”

In the last 12 months:

• 7 in 10 (75%) victims were people of color
  • 7 in 10 (77.8%) of all victims were transgender women
  • 6 in 10 (61.1%) of all victims were transgender women of color
  • Half (50.0%) were Black trans women

• Victims were an average age of 31.7 at the time of their death
  • Half (54.3%) were under the age of 35
  • Pauly Likens, who died at 14, was the youngest victim ever recorded by HRCF

• Over 3 in 10 (30.4%) of the 23 victims with a known killer were killed by
  • an intimate partner (21.7%)
  • or a friend or family member (8.7%)

• 4 in 10 (41.7%) of all victims were initially misgendered by the media and/or the police–the lowest annual percentage observed since HRCF began tracking in 2013

• Victims were identified in 32 different cities, across 22 different states.
  • Three states – Minnesota, Utah, and Nevada–recorded their first deaths since tracking began in 2013.

Sadly, the trends in this year’s report align with what we have seen year-over-year since we first began tracking fatal violence deaths in 2013. Since 2013, fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people has disproportionately impacted the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community with at least 314 BIPOC trans and gender non-conforming people killed – translating to 84.4% of all victims identified to date. Three quarters (73.7%) of all victims have been Black trans women–a total of 274 lives lost. The majority of victims (74.7%) were under the age of 35, and almost 70% of incidents involved a firearm (a total of 258 lives lost), with many cases remaining unsolved.

“The epidemic of violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people is another example of how society devalues a community just trying to live their lives,” said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “In the last year, we’ve seen harmful legislation and dangerous rhetoric create unsafe spaces for those who exist outside the gender binary, and the tone set by these bills has emboldened hate on a terrifying scale. Now more than ever, we must continue to fight for our transgender and gender non-conforming siblings to ensure their voices are heard and their memory isn’t lost.”

Since November 21, 2023—the day after 2023’s Transgender Day of Remembrance— we’ve identified the following individuals who lost their lives to senseless violence against the transgender community: Quanesha Shantel "Cocoa", San Coleman, Honee Daniels, Kassim Omar, Redd (Barbie), Vanity Williams, Tai’Vion Lathan, Dylan Gurley, Monique Brooks, Kenji Spurgeon, Shannon Boswell, Pauly Likens, Liara Tsai, Jazlynn Johnson, Yella (Robert) Clark Jr., Michelle Henry, Brandon “Tayy Dior” Thomas, Reyna Hernandez, Kita Bee, Starr Brown, Sasha Williams, Andrea Doria Dos Passos, River Nevaeh Goddard, Tee “Lagend Billions” Arnold, Africa Parrilla Garcia, Meraxes Medina, Alex Taylor Franco, Diamond Brigman, Righteous TK “Chevy” Hill, and Kitty Monroe.

To read the full Fatal Violence report, visit here. To read the Dismantling a Culture of Violence report visit here.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our impact and shape the future of our work.

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