Transgender Awareness Week

Transgender Awareness Week | Read Time 5-8 Minutes. 

HAPPY TRANSGENDER AWARENESS WEEK!

Transgender Awareness Week is annually in the UK between the 13 and 19 of November. Transgender Awareness Week invites the general public to take another look at their attitudes towards the Trans community.

From films to talks, podcasts to rallies (for example), Transgender Awareness Week is a celebration of the transgender community. It is a time to raise visibility about the issues that they face.

TRANSGENDER REMEMBRANCE DAY and transgender awareness week

Transgender Remembrance Day honours the Transgender lives lost because of Trans violence. The Transgender Day of Remembrance started in 1999 to commemorate the death of Rita Hester. Rita was a trans woman stabbed to death in her apartment the year before the creation of Trans Remembrance Day. Gwendolyn Ann Smith, who started the foundation in Hester’s memory, quotes:

“Transgender day of remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence… it is vitally important that we remember those we lost and that we continue to fight for justice.”

Transgender Awareness week aims to educate the general public on what it means to be Transgender. It is essential to know how we can ease Transgender transition into the community.

TRANSGENDER VIOLENCE and why transgender awareness week is important

2020 saw 350 Transgender deaths (11/11/2020). Transgender individuals globally are historically subjected to violence, known now as an “epidemic of violence.” As a result, a study in The Guardian even stated that “Transgender people in England and Wales are twice as likely to be victims of crime as cisgender people.”

The Stonewall charity recently submitted their “Trans report”, which surveyed Transgender people across the UK. Of those people interviewed, for example, the report revealed that:

“28% faced domestic abuse from a partner last year (2019)

40% changed, hid or altered the way they presented themselves to avoid harassment.

53% of Trans people aged 18-24 have experienced a hate crime in the past year (2019), and of those people, 79% chose not to report it to the police.

44% of those surveyed avoid certain streets and areas of their cities as they don’t feel safe alone as a member of the LGBT community.”

BE A TRANS ALLY

The list of injustices, discriminations and abuse in this report is endless. Sadly, many public members don’t know how to understand what being transgender means. However, there is no excuse for the violence and abuse that often follows.

Transgender awareness and acceptance are rapidly growing in the UK; however, there is undoubted room for improvement.

The easiest way for anyone to understand the Transgender community is to educate people on the matter. Understanding comes from knowledge and asking questions. For instance, Transgender awareness week hosts a vast variety of seminars, films and specialist web pages. The week also includes guest speakers for a variety of Transgender issues and areas to help educate people.

Charities such as GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and organisations such as Trades Union Congress ( TUC) have released online programmes of events and screenings during Trans awareness week and informative articles and posts on Trans history and issues.

The Office for National Statistics is also working on creating a standard process for recording violence against trans people. As a result, more people are becoming aware of the statistics of violence against the trans community.

HOW WE CAN HELP

At LGBT Lawyers, our primary concern for members of the Trans community is their safety and ensuring they have the correct representation for any legal matters. Events like Transgender Awareness Week are crucial in understanding the Trans community, and at LGBT Lawyers, we know how sensitive legal issues surrounding Transgender cases can be. If you are a victim of transphobia, our discrimination page has all the information you might need to help you.

If you would like us to connect you to a lawyer, contact us online or on 020 3795 9020