From Iceland — Reykjavík honors Trans’s memorial day
November 20th is Trans Day of Remembrance where we honor the memories of people who have been murdered for being trans. This is an international event and Reykjavík will represent its own manifestation.
The an event starts at 17:00 in Harpa with a light show where the concert hall is illuminated in the colors of the Trans Pride flag. (seen above). From there, the event moves to the nearby Reykjavík City Hall.
Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson delivers a speech, followed by Trans Ísland’s chairman, Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir. Other related parties will also bring thoughts and reflections, after which there will be a memorial service for the trans people who lost their lives to violence in 2019.
Violence against transgender people is a global problem. total 331 trans people were killed worldwide between October 1 last year and September 30 this year. The majority of these murders—130—were in Brazil, 63 in Mexico, and 30 in the United States.
In fact, the situation in the United States – where trans women of color have mainly been targeted – has reached such a crisis level that last June the American Medical Association (AMA) declared violence against transgender Americans. epidemic.
The AMA also believes that these numbers could be even higher due to under-reporting or that police do not recognize the victims as trans or classify the murders as hate crimes. They also point out that the mainstream media has a constant problem with reporting on the wrong gender identities of those who are murdered, further exposing the public to the full extent of the problem.
What further increases the violence committed against transgender people in the United States is the fact that most states allow s “trans panic defense”; a legal argument made by some perpetrators of violence against transgender people who claim that the discovery of another person’s gender identity caused anger beyond their control.
For these reasons and many others, Trans Remembrance Day honors the memories of the fallen. Everyone, trans and cis, is invited and encouraged to attend.