Members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community gathered in downtown San Luis Obispo Monday evening to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance — a day observed annually on November 20 to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia.
Attendees gathered at the courthouse steps around 5:30 p.m. and then held a candlelight vigil at the Gala Pride and Diversity Center on Palm Street at 6:30 p.m. The event was organized by Trans Central Coast.
"Every year, the atrocities committed against not only all LGBTQ folks, but especially transgender individuals, get worse and worse," Lola White-Sanborn, a San Luis Obispo resident said. "And we are here to honor and empower power, those that are still with us, as well as remembering the losses that we've faced in this community."
At least 33 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been victims of fatal violence in the last 12 months, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. Many were killed by a friend, family member, or romantic or sexual partner, the organization says.
The HRC is the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, the organization's website says.
Since the start of 2023, 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been victims of fatal violence, according to data tracked by HRC and released in its latest report.
That's down from a peak of 59 recorded deaths in 2021. There were 41 in 2022.
Three-hundred and thirty-five transgender people have been killed since 2013, according to the HRC's report. The majority of those have been young people of color, according to HRC, and roughly 62% of victims of fatal violence are Black transgender women.
Fifty-one percent of all transgender and gender non-conforming deaths from fatal violence recorded by HRC have occurred in the last four years.
The HRC's report lists numerous steps proponents and advocates say need to be taken to address the high risk of violence facing the transgender, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ community.
Legal protections are chief among them, but according to the HRC, steps people can take in their daily lives include using the correct names and pronouns for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in addition to supporting laws, policies and politicians that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999.
