The blog over at International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) observes today’s 10th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day for remembering those who have been killed by hatred and prejudice against transgender people as well as a day intended to raise public awareness to combat violence against transgender people. The IGLHRC Blog puts forth the stats:

Every year, transgender people face the omnipresent threats of murder, violence, imprisonment, and pervasive discrimination. The tragic deaths of over 200 trans people reported in the last two years alone-and the countless others that go unreported around the world–are sobering reminders of transgender people’s vulnerabilities to individual and state-sponsored violence and discrimination because of their gender identity and gender expression.

Between January 2008 and June 2009, according to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project, the highest rates of murder reports of transgender people came from the Americas: 82 murders were reported from Brazil, 20 from Venezuela, 16 from the US, 11 from Colombia, 10 from Guatemala, 10 from Mexico, 5 from Honduras, 4 from Venezuela, 3 from Argentina and 3 from the Dominican Republic. Murders of transgender people have also been reported in seven European countries in the same period (Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Serbia, Russia and Turkey), four Asian countries (Iraq, Malaysia, Singapore and India), and two Oceanic countries (Australia and New Zealand).

The post goes on to list and link to specific instances of violence and murder.

We at Susty observe the day by taking note of one of today’s headlines found in the Telegraph concerning a transexual embroiled in an Italian political sex scandal who burned to death. While we are observing from a distance, with no intimate details of the situation, what the magistrates are treating as murder we are left to wonder to what degree the particular identity of the person known as Brenda played in the abilities of one human being to grievously harm another.

IGLHRC