The balancing act of Transgender Remembrance DayCommemorating the horrifically brutal deaths of victims of transphobic violence is difficult, but vitally important Natacha Kennedy
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 November 2011 09.00 EST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/20/transgender-remembrance-dayThe Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony, held annually on 20 November, was started in 1999, when it became clear that trans people were being murdered in particularly large numbers. It is a day marked by sombre ceremonies in cities around the world.
I have been part of the team organising the London ceremony this year, and it has been a difficult to get right. Our aim is to remember the lives of the trans people who have been murdered – as well as those non-trans people who have been killed as a result of transphobic hatred – in the previous 12 months. But the increasing brutality of these crimes, and the fact that some young trans people attending can be traumatised if the ceremony gets too gory, has given us a difficult balancing act.
