Remembering our trans brothers and sisters

Vicky Thompson, a 21-year-old trans woman, was found dead in an all-male prison after telling friends she would kill herself if sent there rather than a female penitentiary . She was being held at Armley, a category B men’s prison in Leeds, where she was pronounced dead last Friday, it was announced on Thursday.

Vicky, who had been handed a 12-month jail term in August, suspended for 24 months, was remanded in custody at Bradford crown court after breaching the terms of the sentence. She had been born male but identified as a woman from her mid-teens. She asked the judge presiding over the case to send her to New Hall women’s prison near Wakefield, but her request was denied.

Her lawyer, Mohammed Hussain, described Thompson, as a vulnerable transgender woman and told the judge she was “essentially a woman”, even though she hadn’t undergone gender reassignment surgery. The judge disagreed. An investigation has been launched into her death. But, according to Ministry of Justice guidelines, all prisoners should be placed according to their gender “as recognised by UK law”, which is usually as stated on their birth certificate. If they have obtained a gender recognition certificate, a new birth certificate will have been issued.

Although this happened across the Atlantic, this issue is still prominent in America. Correction, especially in America, where we incarcerate more people than any other country. More than 2 million Americans today are behind bars, with African-Americans are more than six times as likely to be incarcerated as whites, and Latinos are more than twice as likely to be incarcerated.

Trans people also face the same, disturbing trend. Nearly one in six transgender people, 16 percent, have been incarcerated at some point in their lives. For trans women, 21 percent of them have faced incarceration, a number far higher than the rate for the general population. Among Black transgender people, nearly half, 47 percent, have been incarcerated at some point.

Why? Pervasive discrimination, disproportionate poverty, homelessness, participation in street economies, and bias and abuse by law enforcement officers, sky rocket these numbers. But the mistreatment doesn’t stop once they are incarcerated. Trans people are at high risk for abuse while locked up, whether it be in prison, jail, or a juvenile detention center. They face disproportionate rates of violence, rape and harassment by both staff and other inmates, or choose to go into protective custody, which is essentially solitary confinement. Transgender inmates under protective custody are locked alone in a cell for 23 hours a day.

But it isn’t just incarceration trans people face everyday. There is a laundry list of trans issues that require the attention of the LGBT community and allies alike. Today, November 20, is Transgender Day of Remembrance. A day in which the entire community should take the time and research, remember, and respect the trans people who lost their lives to transphobic violence. This year, we have lost more than 80 people to devastating acts of violence.

These were people who were living authentic lives. People who were brave enough to do anything to feel comfortable in the skin that holds their organs in place. They were friends, family, inspirations, but above all they were human. The slaying of trans people can’t be deducted to one group of attackers, as some are killed by lovers, strangers, and even parents. The only thing they have in common, is that they lost their lives at the hands of ignorant, scared people.

In remembrance, we are listing the names of all known trans murders around the world. Remember these names, and memorialize those that went unidentified as well as the names we will never know.

Papi Edwards (20 years old), fatally shot in Louisville, Ky., on January 9, 2015.

Lamia Beard (30 years old), fatally shot in Norfolk, Va., on January 17, 2015.

Piu da Silva (25 years old), beaten, shot multiple times in Nilópolis, Rio de Janeiroa, Brazil, on January 22, 2015.

LÉO (26 years old), fatally shot in Vitoria da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil, on January 26, 2015.

Didinha (18 years old), shot multiple times in Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil, on February 1, 2015.

Pata (35 years old), strangled to death in Macapá, Amapá, Brazil, on February 7, 2015.

Taja Gabrielle DeJesus (36 years old), stabbed multiple times in San Francisco, on February 8, 2015.

Joyce Akira (teen), shot multiple times in Mangabeira, Joao Pessoa, Brazil, on February 8, 2015.

Penny Proud (21 years old), fatally shot in Tremé, New Orleans, on February 10, 2015.

Bri Golec (22 years old), stabbed to death in Akron, Ohio, on February 13, 2015.

Raíssa (19 years old), stabbed multiple times in neck and chest in Campina Grande,

Paraíba, Brazil, on February 16, 2015.

Capitú Santos (31 years old), stabbed to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, on February 16, 2015.

Lara (16 years old), stoned to death in Parauapebas, Pará, Brazil, on February 22, 2015.

Keity (23 years old), stabbed 10 times in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on February 24, 2015.

Natália Ferraz (21 years old), shot multiple times in Caçapava, São Paulo, Brazil, on February 27, 2015.

Ygor Fernando Oliveira Santos (20 years old), shot multiple times in Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas, Brazil, on February 27, 2015.

Keyshia Blige (33 years old), fatally shot in Aurora, Ill., on March 7, 2015.

Michael Lucas de Almeida Reginald (13 years old), beaten, stabbed multiple times in

Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil, on March 18, 2015.Bianca Araujo (21 years old), fatally shot in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil on March 20, 2015.

Adriana (22 years old), shot multiple times in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, on March 22, 2015.

Vanessa Santillan (33 years old), beaten to death in London, England, on March 28, 2015.

Lotinha, stabbed to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, on March 29, 2015.

Debora, stoned to death in Mogi Mirim, São Paulo, Brazil, on April 2, 2015.

Vanessa Ganzaroli (18 years old), stabbed multiple times in Petrolina, Pernambuc, Brazil, on April 3, 2015.

Bruna Michele (20 years old), beaten to death in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on April 13, 2015.

Victória Camargo (29 years old), fatally shot in Venâncio Aires, Brazil, in April 13, 2015.

Bruna Quércia (15 years old), fatally shot in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil, on April 15, 2015.

Bruna (47 years old), fatally shot in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, on April 16, 2015.

Job Rodrigues da Silva (46 years old), fatally shot in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil, on April 17, 2015.

Diosvany Muñoz Robaina (24 years old), stoned to death in Pinar del Río, Cuba, on April 26, 2015.

Stefanny, fatally shot in Caucaia, Ceará, Brazil, on April 30, 2015.

La Monique de Roma (43 years old), fatally shot in Butantã, São Paulo, Brazil, on May 14, 2015.

Ticiane Abravanel (21 years old), fatally shot in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, on May 18, 2015.

Vandressa Vinnitt, fatally shot in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 18, 2015.

Jean Waltrick (27 years old), shot multiple times in the head in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, on May 23, 2015.

Barbara Sodre (29 years old), stabbed to death in Sergipe, Brazil, on May 25, 2015.

Priscilla da Silva (23 years old), fatally shot in Dois Riachos, Alagoas, Brazil, on May 30, 2015.

Mercedes Williamson (17 years old), beaten to death in Rocky Creek, Ala., on May 30, 2015.

Francela Méndez, stabbed to death in Las Palmeras, Sonsonate, El Salvador, on May 31, 2015.

Carol Melo (30 years old), strangled to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil on June 3, 2015.

Andréia Amado (29 years old), fatally shot in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on June 4, 2015.

Kelly Silva (31 years old), stabbed in neck and arm in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil on June 9, 2015.

Kauane da Silva (35 years old), fatally shot in the head in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on June 13, 2015.

Laura Vermont (18 years old), beaten to death by police in São Paulo, Brazil, on June 20, 2015.

Sidney Araújo Claudino (19 years old, fatally shot in the chest in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, on June 23, 2015.

Bruna J. Mendes (27 years old), fatally shot multiple times in Itapebi, Bahia, Brazil, on June 29, 2015.

India Nascimento (29 years old), beaten to death in Pernambuco, Brazil, on July 12, 2015.

L.R.O. Dorta (26 years old), decapitated in Pernambuco, Brazil, on July 12, 2015.

Vanessa Calaça (27 years old), stoned to death in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, on July 12, 2015.

Ashton O’Hara (25 years old), stabbed to death and run over by a vehicle in Detroit, on July 14, 2015.

Erika Aguilera (25 years old), fatally shot in the back in Dourados, Brazil, on July 16, 2015.

Gabi (26 years old), beaten to death in Valparaíso de Goiás, Brazil, on July 19, 2015.

Nephi Luthers (20 years old), fatally shot in Georgetown, Guyana, on July 21, 2015.

Shade Schuler (22 years old), cause of death unknown, found dead in a field in Dallas, on July 29, 2015.

India Clarke (22 years old), shot multiple times in Tampa, Fla., on July 21, 2015.

K.C. Haggard (66 years old), stabbed multiple times in Fresno, Calif., on July 24, 2015.

Patricia (29 years old), cause of death unknown, body thrown into a bush in Santa Terezinha, Piracicaba, Brazil, on August 3, 2015.

Amber Monroe (20 years old), fatally shot in Detroit, on August 8, 2015.

Kandis Capri (35 years old), fatally shot in Phoenix, on August 11, 2015.

Tamara Dominguez (36 years old), repeatedly run over by a vehicle in Kansas City, Mo., on August 15, 2015.

V.H.A dos Santos (25 years old), shot multiple times in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 24, 2015.

Flower (39 years old), beaten to death in Parintins, Amazonas, Brazil, on August 27, 2015.

Waleska Rayala (21 years old), stabbed 27 times in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on September 2, 2015.

Marcela Chocobar (26 years old), dismembered and burned in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina, on September 4, 2015.

Paulinha, shot in head and chest in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on September 8, 2015.

Fernanda “Coty” Olmos (59 years old), stabbed and suffocated in Santa Fe, Argentina, on September 25, 2015.

C.N. Alves de Matos Jr. (21 years old), stabbed and dismembered in São Paulo, Brazil, on September 25, 2015.

L.A. de Souza (22 years old), found in landfill with knife in neck in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, on September 30, 2015.

Diana Sacayán (39 years old), stabbed multiple times in Buenos Aires, on October 11, 2015.

Yoshi Tsuchida (38 years old), found dead with face skinned off inside his apartment in Fussa, Japan, on November 12, 2015.

Vicky Thompson (21 years old), found dead in prison in Leeds, UK, November 13, 2015