Violence Against Transgender People: Calling Out Transphobia

Written by Tiera Sandiford

2021 was reported to be the deadliest year for transgender people in the United States, with 47 recorded killings. In a report on gender-based violence, The Canadian Women’s Foundation reported that transgender people were more likely to have experienced violence by the age of 15, as compared to cisgender people. In conversations regarding gender-based violence, it is important to recognize the disproportionate rate at which transgender people are killed, understand how transphobia fosters a culture leading to violence, and address the intersectional factors that contribute to further disproportional violence against certain identities.

Transphobia is described as the fear, hatred, or mistrust of transgender people, and can take on a number of different forms including negative attitudes and beliefs, bullying, misgendering, and systemic discriminatory practices, such as the denial of housing and healthcare. These various forms of transphobia often operate simultaneously and build on each other to create the culture of transphobic violence that exists today. In other words, transphobia can be understood as existing within a hierarchy, in which negative beliefs sit at the lowest point in the hierarchy, but ultimately compound to normalized gendered violence. Transgender people being 4 times more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people is not something that happens overnight or arbitrarily, but is rather the result of a culture of anti-trans feelings and practices.

Intersectionality plays a key role in daily life and has serious effects on the way that different identities experience the social world. Intersectionality is therefore inextricable from any discussion about violence against transgender people. Of the 47 transgender women killed in the US in 2021, a majority were Black and Latinx. Evidently, Black and brown transgender women are disproportionately represented in the cases of violence, which can be attributed to the intersections of racism, homophobia, and transphobia.

Violence and killing of transgender people represents the harrowing culmination of transphobic attitudes, beliefs, and practices, and is only worsened when combined with racialized identities. In order to protect trans lives, calling out transphobia in all forms—from respecting pronouns to standing against anti-trans laws—must become a daily part of life.