My gender is rage
Every third day the murder of a trans person is reported
http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/every-third-day-the-murder-of-a-trans-person-is-reported/ (http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/every-third-day-the-murder-of-a-trans-person-is-reported/)
Trans Murder Monitoring Project reveals more than 200 reported murders of trans persons in the last 1 1/2 years
In April 2009 the international NGO Transgender Europe (TGEU) in cooperation with the multilingual Online-Magazine "Liminalis — A Journal for Sex/Gender Emancipation and Resistance" started a new project, the /Trans Murder Monitoring Project/, which focuses on systematically reporting murdered trans people on a worldwide scale.
The very preliminary results of the first step of this project have revealed a total of 204 cases of reported murders of trans people world wide in the last 1 1/2 years. 121 cases of murdered trans people have been reported in 2008. From January to June 2009 already 83 cases of murdered trans people have been reported.
It's been pretty clear for awhile that transphobia is on the rise.
And there are still people who don't think there are hate crimes.
Julie
It's been pretty clear for awhile that transphobia is on the rise.
You may think so, but that does not account for the rise in numbers, where other factors may well be playing into it far more.
First, as the number of transpersons rises, so to will any aggregate statistics involving them.
Second, and more importantly, a rise in reporting of crimes may in fact - and often is - be the result of greater public awareness, and might even be the result of the crime occurring less.
Third, it might not be a trans issue at all. The number one spot for these murders seems to be Rio, where the murder rate for the general population is pretty much off the hook.
From the U.S. State Department,
Crime throughout Brazil has reached very high levels. The Brazilian police and the Brazilian press report that the rate of crime continues to rise, especially in the major urban centers – though it is also spreading in rural areas. Brazil's murder rate is more than four times higher than that of the U.S. Rates for other crimes are similarly high. The majority of crimes are not solved. There were rapes reported by American citizens in 2008.
There are about 21 murders a day in Rio, perhaps the most dangerous city in the world, so that's about 8,000 a year. 55 trans persons, in a very ->-bleeped-<- city, many involved in crime, is less than 1% of the murders. So that's a low rate in fact.
Quote from: Julie Marie on July 21, 2009, 11:22:49 AM
And there are still people who don't think there are hate crimes.
Julie
Yes there are those people, but the ones I read don't usually say there are no hate crimes, just that the judicial system already provides murder-punishments and there is no need for overkill.
I appreciate what Queen Emily and Monica do at
questioningtransphobia and what TGEU is doing with this map and the enhanced statistics.
But, I have to admit that I too sometimes wonder what good an enhanced punishment for murdering someone else who is a minority really does to deter that crime.
There is much to be done about prosecution and jury decision-making as well. Although the point of the latter always escapes me: am I to instruct the jury that they cannot find, for instance, that Teish was actually a first-degree or second-degree murder rather than a manslaughter? Not sure how to do that effectively and allow a jury to deliberate.
I have known people who were murdered and people who committed murder and although there were death-penalities in place in the states where they committed their acts not one of them was so sentenced and I doubt seriously that those who did the murders thought long and hard about the death-penalty being levied on them before they used their knife or gun to commit the crimes.
Quote from: tekla on July 21, 2009, 11:26:16 AM
There are about 21 murders a day in Rio, perhaps the most dangerous city in the world, so that's about 8,000 a year. 55 trans persons, in a very ->-bleeped-<- city, many involved in crime, is less than 1% of the murders. So that's a low rate in fact.
But what percent of the population of Rio is trans? Estimates say MTF trans people are 1 in 11,000, FTM 1 in 30,000. That would mean there would be about 900 MTFs in Rio which means if 55 are murdered that would represent a 6% murder rate. And if it is a "very ->-bleeped-<- city" and that means double what is normal that still leaves a 3% murder rate. And that's just for MTFs.
Every statistic I've ever seen showing the murder rate of trans people is substantially higher than the local average when you take into consideration the percentage of the population trans people represent.
Julie
Quote from: Nichole on July 21, 2009, 11:30:33 AM
Yes there are those people, but the ones I read don't usually say there are no hate crimes, just that the judicial system already provides murder-punishments and there is no need for overkill.
I appreciate what Queen Emily and Monica do at questioningtransphobia and what TGEU is doing with this map and the enhanced statistics.
But, I have to admit that I too sometimes wonder what good an enhanced punishment for murdering someone else who is a minority really does to deter that crime.
There is much to be done about prosecution and jury decision-making as well. Although the point of the latter always escapes me: am I to instruct the jury that they cannot find, for instance, that Teish was actually a first-degree or second-degree murder rather than a manslaughter? Not sure how to do that effectively and allow a jury to deliberate.
I have known people who were murdered and people who committed murder and although there were death-penalities in place in the states where they committed their acts not one of them was so sentenced and I doubt seriously that those who did the murders thought long and hard about the death-penalty being levied on them before they used their knife or gun to commit the crimes.
But that is not going to solve the fact that some crimes may have better chanche to get treated fairly in cases hate crime laws exists. Hate crime laws are also a signal from society that all people should be protected under the law. Kansas senator put amendment that passed to the new hate crime law to ''protect first amendment rights'' probably including the right to speak that ''sinners'' should get what they deserve etc.
Quote from: DarkLady on July 21, 2009, 01:43:33 PM
But that is not going to solve the fact that some crimes may have better chanche to get treated fairly in cases hate crime laws exists. Hate crime laws are also a signal from society that all people should be protected under the law. Kansas senator put amendment that passed to the new hate crime law to ''protect first amendment rights'' probably including the right to speak that ''sinners'' should get what they deserve etc.
So let me get this right, please. You found that the first-degree manslaughter w/ hate crime was the "treated fairly" verdict in the Leteisha Green trial?
Given the facts. You believe that the best and most proper verdict was first-degree manslaughter w/ an hate crime attached?
I am not familiar enough with Lateishha Green case but those who killed Gwen Araujo did not get what they deserved.
anyone have a clue as to why there's only been 1 or two FTM murders that anyone knows of v. so many MTF?
Quoteanyone have a clue as to why there's only been 1 or two FTM murders that anyone knows of v. so many MTF?
Perhaps sex work has something to do with it. Not many FTM are prostitutes or get murdered.
Quote from: lisagurl on July 21, 2009, 07:06:58 PM
Perhaps sex work has something to do with it. Not many FTM are prostitutes or get murdered.
So maybe MTFs ought to take a clue and get out of the business.
Quote from: Mister on July 21, 2009, 07:10:17 PM
So maybe MTFs ought to take a clue and get out of the business.
Blaming the victim is oh so
edgy, don't you think?
Also, while you're being
edgy you should check out employment rates and survival sex work.
I live in San Francisco. I'm aware of unemployment AND of survival sex work.
So why don't you explain how in a city with so many laws barring transgender discrimination there are a TON of MTF sex workers?
Quote from: Mister on July 30, 2009, 06:54:19 PM
I live in San Francisco. I'm aware of unemployment AND of survival sex work.
So why don't you explain how in a city with so many laws barring transgender discrimination there are a TON of MTF sex workers?
I have no clue what an "MTF" is, but I'll assume you mean "trans women."
As for why, I guess that these statistics may contribute (http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2451):
QuoteThis work all began two years ago when the Transgender Law Center and Pride at Work met with the SF Bay Guardian about transgender unemployment. The Bay Guardian and the Transgender Law Center decided to do a survey of employment in the transgender community. The results were somewhat shocking: 75 percent of transgender people in the Bay Area don't have full-time employment. Equally shocking: 58 percent make less than $15,333 a year. Unemployment, underemployment, and poverty plague the trans community.
I know, it's shocking, right? That anti-discrimination laws don't actually prevent discrimination?
And it doesn't matter - not all trans women who are murdered are sex workers, although many are profiled as such because of racism and trans misogyny.
Every third day the murder of a trans person is reported, but how many people total die in those 3 days?
How many of the MTF were just targeted because they were women or appeared to be a female target?
Quote from: Autumn on July 30, 2009, 07:00:53 PM
Every third day the murder of a trans person is reported, but how many people total die in those 3 days?
How many of the MTF were just targeted because they were women or appeared to be a female target?
The obvious conclusion to draw here is that trans women are at risk for being trans and for being women, which increases the chances of experiencing violence, and doesn't mitigate it.
Quote from: Nichole on July 30, 2009, 07:09:53 PM
QFT, Lisa.
Is that accurate? Or are you just bein' par-ti-cu-lar again? :)
I'm just being par - ti -cu -lar. >:-)
Quote from: Nichole on July 30, 2009, 07:17:28 PM
O good, because I was thinkin' ... :laugh:
Slow day at QT today and ya decided to bump the post or what? ;) Nice to have you drop in.
Not so much a slow day as I was checking trackbacks. I've had many many slow days lately, but I've actually been more online today than usual.
Quotewhich increases the chances of experiencing violence, and doesn't mitigate it.
And our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that die everyday, where and who they are do not mitigate the loss.
It seems like some people here are trying to evade the issue here. Yes, it is true that people die every day and for different reasons. However, there have been multiple studies indiciating a much higher rate of violence against transgendered people than others. I don't believe this is coincidental. Look at the culture. Almost all depictions of violent crime on TV and in movies have males as the aggressors and are often shown to be extremely macho and the victims are often female or weaker males.
The real world isn't much different. Almost all murderers, rapists, and robbers are also men and again a lot of the victims are women. It may be common to see men walking down a street late at night either alone or in a group but seeing a woman or group of women doing this is rare enough to raise eyebrows. If a man is walking down the street at night, nobody will bat an eye but if it is a woman, everyone will assume she is a prostitute. It is much more common to run into women who are nervous walking to their car at night than men. I don't believe these are coincidences either and this simply looks at the gender issues as I haven't even gotten into transgender issues.
If our society already hates women so much, it shouldn't surprise us that trans women who will be seen as "men who want to become women" by the culture will be looked down upon even more. Unless someone actually knows a trans person and especially if they know them well or are regularly around one, the overhwhelming majority of the public has little to no education at all on the subject. The best "education" the public gets about trans issues is some "Sex Change" joke in a tabloid in the grocery store aisle, some silly character on TV, or an actual political issue that is being brought to light in the media. Other than that, people just aren't informed. It is getting better, but there is a long way to go.
I can give a simple personal example of how the culture responds. I walk to my car and back from places every day dressed as a male (I am a pre-op questioning MTF TG for those who don't know) and nobody even pays attention. I will be wearing normal male attire (t-shirt, jeans, etc.). Then on occasion when I dress in female attire and attempt to pass, suddenly people will be yelling at me from pickup trucks or clearly watching me with interest from a distance. This occurs while I am actually passing as female so I know that genetic girls are regularly having to put up with this crap daily. Now suppose, I decided to interact with these "gentlemen" and flirted with them for a bit as a genetic girl would do. Once they realized I wasn't completely female, things could well get ugly.
Again, it is easy to pretend these issues away by saying people die every day and while that part is true, it doesn't make the real issue any better. Last but not least, we need to understand freedom and rights--especially those of us who live in the U.S. who have been brainwashed since we were little as to how "free" this country is. You have the right to be who you are. You have the right to dress how you want. You have the right to be in any public space where you are legally allowed to be at any time of the day or night. You are not obligated to explain or answer to others over your lawful free expression of who you are. Other people reserve the right not to accept you, not to like you, and not to associate with you. At the same time, you have the right not to be harrassed, threatened, attacked, victimized, or otherwise harmed. Someone also referred to how MTFs should get out of the prostitution business for their safety. As far as I'm concerned, consenting adults have the right to decide what kinds of products or services they trade whether it is a neighbor mowing your lawn for $20 or a girl giving a ->-bleeped-<- for $100 and the government and others who are not involved should stay out of it. While that is a whole different topic altogether, prostitutes have the right to go about their business without being violently attacked just as the neighbor mowing the lawn would reserve those same rights.
It's time people start waking up.
Quoteprostitutes have the right to go about their business without being violently attacked
No in most places it is outlawed just as drug dealing is . If you operate outside the law you can expect not protection under the law.
The fact that so many of us are targeted is shocking regardless what the specific numbers are. It also bothers me as to how brutal these cases often are. I'm especially offended as to how the right bend is in some of the press. In many cases, these poor souls are blamed for their own extermination. I also suspect that these murders are not pursued with the same vigor as others.
During my transition in the 80's, I lived in the LA area. Within the group of trans-women I knew, many were involved in some sort of prostitution. Employment can be a very difficult option for many of us because of our presentation. But back then, we also had an immense stigma to overcome and most of us had grown up in silence. With no acknowledgement that trans-gender issues even existed, many of us were complete basket cases to start with and had little education or skills as a result. The drive to change our physical selves overwhelmed every other aspect of our lives. The sex business was pretty much the only sort of work that we could pursue.
There was a time when I was in such dire conditions that I too succumbed. I did some telephone work for a mere pittance. I have never felt so degraded. I'm glad that I realized what it was doing to me and got out of it after a few months. I finally was able to find a job (the worst I've ever had), but it paid the bills and I did get health insurance which helped with some of my medical bills.
Several of my acquaintances eventually were diagnosed with AIDS. I saw some die. I knew one who was murdered. I knew several others who were brutally assaulted. Even though I faced severe discrimination at work, I felt extremely lucky that I at least had an education and could find employment.
Cindi
QuoteThe sex business was pretty much the only sort of work that we could pursue.
It is a crime just as robbing a bank. It is not a business. I bet they all paid taxes on their gains also. The self employed also need to pay Social Security. It is not an option. Welfare is a better option. It comes down to not wanting to work for low pay.
Quotemany of us were complete basket cases to start with and had little education or skills as a result.
No education leaves only two choices, low pay or start your own legal business.
The employment office has many options for people with little education. But all the options require a lot of work.
Quote from: lisagurl on August 03, 2009, 09:07:01 AM
No in most places it is outlawed just as drug dealing is . If you operate outside the law you can expect not protection under the law.
I don't know where you get this stuff from. First, the law doesn't "protect" anyone. If you want "protection," you either carry something or you hire a bodyguard. Second, breaking the law does not legalize someone else violently attacking you. Prostitution is a misdemeanor in my state and in many states. Aggrevated assault and murder are felonies. If you go around beating up prostitutes and it is brought to the law's attention, you will soon find yourself arrested. If a prostitute is murdered, an investigation will be done.
I believe I have asked you before that if you want to discuss my opinions that you actually comment on the points I am making. Taking and quoting snippets of my points completely out of context to distort what I am saying and altering the topic which you have been consistently doing I consider to be trolling and if it continues, I am reporting it to the moderators.
unlocked for the time being.