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Posts Tagged ‘transgender’

A Transgender Person is Murdered Every 3 Days in the World…Mostly in Latin America

29 Jul 2009

transmap Here at VL we have covered lots of stories about violence against transgender people, and unfortunately many of these cases of violence end in death. What I didn’t know was that the rate at which transgender murders occur worldwide was so high; a recent report by non-profit organization Transgender Europe (TGEU) shows that a transgender person is killed every 3 days. And another disturbing fact is that the majority of these murders are happening in Latin America:

The cases have been reported from all six World regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The majority of cases have been reported from Latin America and North America. On these continents the majority of cases have been reported from Brazil (59) and the U.S.A. (16) for 2008 and from Brazil (23), Venezuela (20), and Guatemala (10) for the first six months of 2009. Moreover, the preliminary results show a total of 11 murdered trans people reported for Colombia followed by 5 for Honduras and 4 for Mexico and Venezuela for 2008, and 6 for Mexico and 3 for Argentina, and the Dominican Republic for the first six months of 2009.

In total 91 murders of trans people were reported in 11 Latin American countries in 2008, and 73 murders of trans people in 11 Latin American countries in the first six months of 2009. The reported murders of trans people in Latin America account for 75% and 88% of the world wide reported murders of trans people in 2008 and the first six months of
2009 respectively.

The map associated with the study (image above) for 2009 to date shows the highest concentration of murders in South America, particularly in Brazil.

Spain’s Ambiente G reports on another chilling statistic: in Peru, a gay or lesbian person is killed every 5 days.

Via / Ambiente G and TGEU

Angie Zapata and Social Media

10 Apr 2009

Angie Zapata was a transgender woman who was brutally murdered in Colorado last year. Next week, her killer goes to trial, and an online campaign by ProgressNow Colorado is encouraging us to remember Angie’s life and death at this difficult time.

Light a Candle for Angie is a Facebook application designed to draw attention to the issue of hate crimes. If you are a Facebook member, why not join the iniative?

If you are a Twitter member, you can follow all of the activities around the online campaign by adding Justice for Angie, or searching #zapata for other online conversations around anti-hate activism in Angie’s name.

It’s refreshing to once again see social media sites being used for something more than just entertainment. These applications’ ability to bring people together also have great potential to harness the power of many to bring much needed attention to serious social issues such as hate crimes, which I hope will eventually bring about policy change.

Via / AngieZapata.com

Hate Crime in Memphis : Transgender Woman of Color Shot

12:42 pm By Maegan La Mala · GLBT|Memphis · Comments Off

29 Dec 2008

The past year has shown us how the anti-immigrant rhetoric read as anti-Latino translates into very real acts of violence against humans like Marcelo Lucero and José Sucuzhañay. Combine the racism with homophobia and transphobia, bolstered by the hateful Proposition 8 measure, and we have cases like Angie Zapata.

Memphis, Tennessee seems to be a center of hate against trans women of color, as according to Pam’s House Blend, in the last six months, at least three trans women have been targeted with Leeneshia Edwards as the latest.

Transgender Day of Rememberance

1:06 pm By Maegan La Mala · GLBT · Comments Off

20 Nov 2008

Little Light breaks it down:

The Day of Remembrance is ours, and it is sacred. It is the one day we set aside to honor those in our community, overwhelmingly poor trans women of color, who were killed due to bigotry and hatred. It is a single day in the year where we make certain that the names of the murdered are heard and held up, so we can all remember that these people mattered, were real, were loved, and are missed. It’s a day to gather the community together and call attention to the violence directed against us and the caring we have for each other. It came from us. It was built by us. It was never supposed to be flashy or glitzy. It is a solemn mourning for the dead, a place to hold hands, and a promise to those who violence took away from us that we who are still living will hold together, take care of each other, and push forward together into a world where that violence is only a painful memory…

…My right to stay alive is more of a priority than my right to get legally married. And right now, as this society and its culture and its legal system stand, I’m one of many people who don’t have either right. You want to fight for my right to marry? Wonderful. Thank you. But those hours protesting, those donations, all that outrage and community support and work–I’d prefer they went, for a start, to keeping me alive out here. And I think the “GLBTQ” community in the United States, such as it is, needs to take a long, hard look at why they have money and time to fight Measure 8, but nothing to give but silence, co-opting, and more requests for us to pipe down and lighten up when it comes to the more than monthly murder of trans people. Show us our lives and deaths matter to you. Show us you acknowledge that the violence against us is worth paying attention to, that our dead were real people who deserved far better, and that our living shouldn’t have to live in fear.

Brazil to Pay for Sex Changes for its Citizens

4:25 pm By Maegan La Mala · Brazil|GLBT|Latin America|society · Comments Off

21 Aug 2008

A major move in the right direction in Brazil with regard to trans rights: the government has decreed that it will subsidize all gender reassignment procedures for its citizens:

The decree was published in the official bulletin and recognizes sex changes as a “right”, as was defined in a 2007 decision which the government denied a reversal, in spite of protests by conservative and religious groups.

The only requirements for the subsidized procedure is that the patient be over 21, and have undergone 2 years of psychological evaluation, which means that the first procedures will not take place until 2010.

Spain’s 20 Minutos reports that the Brazilian Health Ministry projects that without the economic barrier, the procedure might be requested by one out of every 10,000 Brazilians.

Via / 20 Minutos

Remembering Angie Zapata

9:00 am By Maegan La Mala · Colorado|crime|GLBT|Women · Comments Off

11 Aug 2008

While the papers run obits for Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes, much attention isn’t being paid to the violent killing of Angie Zapata.

Her community remembers her though, and by her community, I mean people who actually knew the woman, and people who were moved by her life and sadly the gruesome way her death was handled by the mainstream media.

“We never knew how dangerous this world is,” Zapata said, remembering her sister Angie Zapata, a transgender woman killed in Greeley in mid-July. “You are who you are and you should never be ashamed.”

Officials say Angie Zapata was the target of a hate crime after a man she was on a date with beat her to death with his fists and a fire extinguisher after learning she was biologically male, according to police. The man, Allen Ray Andrade, faces first-degree murder charges in connection with the death and charges of a bias-motivated crime — a felony.

Angie Zapata would have celebrated her 19th birthday last week.

“She always knew she was supposed to be a girl. And we knew it too,” Monica Zapata said. “Don’t remember her as transgendered but remember her as a beautiful, loving woman.”

Donna Rose of The Donna Blog was at a memorial service for Angie this past Saturday and posted moving photographs that everyone should see and reflect on.

Via / Pam’s House Blend, The Greely Tribune, The Donna Blog

Argentina: First gender reassigment on a minor

1:29 pm By Maegan La Mala · Argentina|GLBT · 2 Comments

6 Dec 2007

Nati, a 17 year-old from Cordoba, Argentina, never felt like a boy. In her own words she described her feelings towards gender as being “7 Up trapped in Coke bottle”. But as of this week, Nati is no longer trapped, becoming the first minor in Argentina to have gender reassignment surgery:

The adolescent, totally supported in this decision by her parents, brothers and loved ones, was diagnosed with gender dysphoria (a profound difference between the physical gender and the gender that person feels is their own), and even though she had already received hormone treatment and breast implants, the “essential” part was still missing.

Nati had attempted suicide three times before when local judges denied her the right to surgery because she was a minor. After the surgery issued a new I.D. card reflecting her gender.

Via / 20 Minutos

Image via adnmundo.com

Transgender Latinas Abused by Police

4:15 pm By Maegan La Mala · GLBT|New York City · Comments Off

17 Nov 2005

It probably is no surprise that Latinos are targeted and profiled by the police, often making our community the victims of police abuse and brutality. With just a few days before November 20th, Transgender Remembrance Day, a day honoring those who have been killed as a result of prejudice, it’s also a good time to take note at how pervasive police abuse against our transgender brothers and sisters really is.

Many people think of New York City’s Greenwich Village as liberal and open minded, yet it was in broad daylight in the Village earlier this year that 20-year-old Maria Lopez was sexually harassed and arrested for loitering by the New York City Police Department while she waited for a bus.

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