Today marks the 16th annual Transgender Day of Rememberance, after the first event, a candlelight vigil in San Francisco, was organized by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999. It began in response to the death of Rita Hester -- a trans woman of color killed the year beforehand in Massachusetts.
Every year since, growing numbers of trans people and advocates worldwide take a moment to pause and remember the countless lives lost around the globe to transphobic violence. The somber occasion serves as a memorial event in which trans people and allies can mourn their dead, celebrate the lives they lived and as a popular hashtag in the wake of unabated anti-trans violence proclaims, #SayHerName.
[See the stories and faces of the 23 transgender women killed in the U.S. in 2015.]
Indeed, the vast majority of the 81 people killed this year, as in years past, have been transgender women, and among those, a staggering majority have been women of color. While many TDOR events rightfully focus on the trans-feminine victims of violence, it is worth noting that trans-masculine individuals suffer violence -- and sometimes death -- at the hands of a global society that requires strict adherence to binary gender standards.
Over the years, the now-international project has catalogued the loss of hundreds of trans and gender-nonconforming people -- individuals who, within their often short lifetimes, were beloved family members, friends, and members of their communities -- who faced attackers wielding slurs, weapons, and fists. Some were killed by intimate partners, some by strangers, while still others were children slain by parents who were intolerant of their gender variance.
As the names listed below demonstrate, certain nations -- the United States and Brazil -- have particularly acute problems with fatal transphobic violence. The number of trans women killed this year in the U.S., for instance, is nearly double that of the total killed last year. But it's also worth noting that in many countries around the world, no formal system exists to report the deaths of trans people, and repressive societies combined with oppressive policing worldwide often give trans people good cause to be wary of law-enforcement officials.
So while we mourn those whose names are listed below, take a moment to memorialize those whose names we will never know -- because they, too, had lives, and loves, and passions that were extinguished because of hate.
Alexander Cheves, Michael Luong, and Daniel Reynolds contributed to this report.
[Celebrate the lives of these American women with The Advocate's illustrated memorial slideshow here.]
Keyshia Blige (33 years old), fatally shot in Aurora, Ill., on March 7, 2015.
Tamara Dominguez (36 years old), repeatedly run over by a vehicle in Kansas City, Mo., on August 15, 2015.
Kandis Capri (35 years old), fatally shot in Phoenix, on August 11, 2015.
Amber Monroe (20 years old), fatally shot in Detroit, on August 8, 2015.
Ashton O'Hara (25 years old), stabbed to death and run over by a vehicle in Detroit, on July 14, 2015.
Shade Schuler (22 years old), cause of death unknown, found dead in a field in Dallas, on July 29, 2015.
K.C. Haggard (66 years old), stabbed multiple times in Fresno, Calif., on July 24, 2015.
India Clarke (22 years old), shot multiple times in Tampa, Fla., on July 21, 2015.
Mercedes Williamson (17 years old), beaten to death in Rocky Creek, Ala., on May 30, 2015.
Penny Proud (21 years old), fatally shot in Treme, New Orleans, on February 10, 2015.
Taja Gabrielle DeJesus (36 years old), stabbed multiple times in San Francisco, on Feburary 8, 2015.
Bri Golec (22 years old), stabbed to death in Akron, Ohio, on February 13, 2015.
Lamia Beard (30 years old), fatally shot in Norfolk, Va., on January 17, 2015.
Papi Edwards (20 years old), fatally shot in Louisville, Ky., on January 9, 2015.
Elisha Walker (20 years old), beaten to death in Smithfield, N.C., on August 14, 2015.
Jasmine Collins (32 years old), stabbed to death in Kansas City, Mo., on June 23, 2015.
London Chanel (21 years old), stabbed to death in North Philadelphia, on May 18, 2015.
Ty Underwood (24 years old), fatally shot in North Tyler, Texas, on January 26, 2015.
Yazmin Vash Payne (33 years old), stabbed multiple times in Los Angeles, on January 31, 2015.
Kristina Gomez Reinwald (46 years old) stabbed to death in Miami, Fla., on February 16, 2015.
Zella Ziona (21 years old), fatally shot in Montgomery Village, Md., on October 15, 2015.
Maya Hall (27 years old), killed by police in Fort Meade, Md., on March 30, 2015.
Kiesha Jenkins (22 years old), fatally shot in Philadelphia, on October 6, 2015.
C.N. Alves de Matos Jr. (21 years old), stabbed and dismembered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 25, 2015.
L.A. de Souza (22 years old), found in landfill with knife in neck in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 30, 2015.
Waleska Rayala (21 years old), stabbed 27 times in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on September 2, 2015.
Paulinha, shot in head and chest in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on September 8, 2015.
Flower (39 years old), beaten to death in Parintins, Amazonas, Brazil, on August 27, 2015.
V.H.A dos Santos (25 years old), shot multiple times in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 24, 2015.
Patricia (29 years old), cause of death unknown, body thrown into a bush in Santa Terezinha, Piracicaba, Brazil, on August 3, 2015.
Unidentified (45 years old), fatally shot in the head in Alta Floresta d'Oeste, Rondonia, Brazil, on July 25, 2015.
Gabi (26 years old), beaten to death in Valparaiso de Goias, Brazil, on July 19, 2015.
Erika Aguilera (25 years old), fatally shot in the back in Dourados, Brazil, on July 16, 2015.
India Nascimento (29 years old), beaten to death in Pernambuco, Brazil, on July 12, 2015.
L.R.O. Dorta (26 years old), decapitated in Pernambuco, Brazil, on July 12, 2015.
Vanessa Calaca (27 years old), stoned to death in Goiania, Goias, Brazil, on July 12, 2015.
Unknown woman, fatally shot multiple times in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil on June 30, 2015.
Unknown woman, stabbed in the neck in Cacoal, Rondonia, Brazil, on July 5, 2015.
Bruna J. Mendes (27 years old), fatally shot multiple times in Itapebi, Bahia, Brazil, on June 29, 2015.
Sidney Araujo Claudino (19 years old, fatally shot in the chest in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, on June 23, 2015.
Laura Vermont (18 years old), beaten to death by police in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 20, 2015.
Kauane da Silva (35 years old), fatally shot in the head in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on June 13, 2015.
Unknown woman, unknown cause of death, buried in a shallow grave in Serra, Espirito Santo, Brazil, on June 9, 2015.
Kelly Silva (31 years old), stabbed in neck and arm in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil on June 9, 2015.
Andreia Amado (29 years old), fatally shot in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on June 4, 2015.
Carol Melo (30 years old), strangled to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil on June 3, 2015.
Priscilla da Silva (23 years old), fatally shot in Dois Riachos, Alagoas, Brazil, on May 30, 2015.
Barbara Sodre (29 years old), stabbed to death in Sergipe, Brazil, on May 25, 2015.
Jean Waltrick (27 years old), shot multiple times in the head in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, on May 23, 2015.
Vandressa Vinnitt, fatally shot in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 18, 2015.
Ticiane Abravanel (21 years old), fatally shot in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, on May 18, 2015.
La Monique de Roma (43 years old), fatally shot in Butanta, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 14, 2015.
Unidentified woman, fatally shot in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, on May 3, 2015.
Stefanny, fatally shot in Caucaia, Ceara, Brazil, on April 30, 2015.
Job Rodrigues da Silva (46 years old), fatally shot in Porto Velho, Rondonia, Brazil, on April 17, 2015.
Unidentified woman, beaten and strangled to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, on April 17, 2015.
Bruna (47 years old), fatally shot in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil, on April 16, 2015.
Bruna Quercia (15 years old), fatally shot in Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Brazil, on April 15, 2015.
Victoria Camargo (29 years old), fatally shot in Venancio Aires, Brazil, in April 13, 2015.
Bruna Michele (20 years old), beaten to death in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on April 13, 2015.
Vanessa Ganzaroli (18 years old), stabbed multiple times in Petrolina, Pernambuc, Brazil, on April 3, 2015.
Debora, stoned to death in Mogi Mirim, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 2, 2015.
Lotinha, stabbed to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, on March 29, 2015.
Adriana (22 years old), shot multiple times in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, on March 22, 2015.
Bianca Araujo (21 years old), fatally shot in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil on March 20, 2015.
Michael Lucas de Almeida Reginald (13 years old), beaten, stabbed multiple times in Araraquara, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 18, 2015.
Natalia Ferraz (21 years old), in Cacapava, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 27, 2015.
Ygor Fernando Oliveira Santos (20 years old), shot multiple times in Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas, Brazil, on February 27, 2015.
Keity (23 years old), stabbed 10 times in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on February 24, 2015.
Lara (16 years old), stoned to death in Parauapebas, Para, Brazil, on February 22, 2015.
Unidentified woman, shot multiple times in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on February 20, 2015.
Raissa (19 years old), stabbed multiple times in neck and chest in Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil, on February 16, 2015.
Capitu Santos (31 years old), stabbed to death in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, on February 16, 2015.
Joyce Akira (teen), shot multiple times in Mangabeira, Joao Pessoa, Brazil, on February 8, 2015.
Pata (35 years old), strangled to death in Macapa, Amapa, Brazil, on February 7, 2015.
Didinha (18 years old), in Vitoria de Santo Antao, Pernambuco, Brazil, on February 1, 2015.
Unidentified woman, fatally shot in Lorena, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 17, 2015.
LEO (26 years old), fatally shot in Vitoria da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil, on January 26, 2015.
Piu da Silva (25 years old), beaten, shot multiple times in Nilopolis, Rio de Janeiroa, Brazil, on January 22, 2015.
Nephi Luthers (20 years old), fatally shot in Georgetown, Guyana, on July 21, 2015.
Diosvany Munoz Robaina (24 years old), stoned to death in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on April 26, 2015.
Unknown (41 years old), severe head and neck trauma in Alicante, Spain, on July 21, 2015.
Unidentified woman, fatally shot in Peshawar, Pakistan, on April 6, 2015.
Unidentified woman, fatally shot in Peshawar, Pakistan, on April 6, 2015.
Diana Sacayan (39 years old), stabbed multiple times in Buenos Aires, on October 11, 2015.
Marcela Chocobar (26 years old), dismembered and burned in Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina, on September 4, 2015.
Francela Mendez, stabbed to death in Las Palmeras, Sonsonate, El Salvador, on May 31, 2015.
Fernanda "Coty" Olmos (59 years old), stabbed and suffocated in Santa Fe, Argentina, on September 25t, 2015.
Yoshi Tsuchida (38 years old), found dead with face skinned off inside his apartment in Fussa, Japan, on November 12, 2015.
Vanessa Santillan (33 years old), beaten to death in London, England, on March 28, 2015.
