by Elise
Image: PekoeBlaze, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
On Nov. 20, 2014, at the Chicago, Ill., City Hall, community leaders and some Chicago elected officials joined in commemoration of Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor the 350 Trans and gender diverse people murdered in 2024. Six percent more Trans and gender diverse people were reported as murdered than in 2023. Trans and gender diverse people of color comprised 93% of those murdered. Among the demands made were adequate housing, equal opportunity employment, safety for Trans and gender diverse people wherever they are, especially on the streets. Police often leave open cases of murdered Trans people or investigate slowly, and many cases are not designated as hate crimes. This was brought to light with the murder of Redd, known as Barbie to her friends, a Trans woman of color. She was involved with the Task Force Prevention and Community Services on the West Side, which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention, education, testing, treatment and care of disenfranchised adolescents living in communities with limited resources. Transgender Day of Remembrance was observed worldwide.
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Russian LGBTQ+ activist Andrei Kotov, who ran the travel agency Men Travel, was reported dead by suicide while in prison, bringing to light the brutal conditions and inhumane treatment of Russian prisoners in general and more so for LGBTQ+ prisoners and even prisoners simply perceived as being Queer. It is illegal in Russia to actively support LGBTQ+ people and organizations. Kotov reported receiving electric shocks and other severe physical abuse by law enforcement personnel. Human rights groups and the international diplomatic community also bring to light Russia’s legal cruelty to LGBTQ+ Russians, and have tried sanctions and condemnation of Russia with limited impact.
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It is feared that the film Crossing, about a Georgian woman traveling to Turkey to find her estranged Trans niece, will ignite protests, harassment and violence against LGBTQ+ people in Georgia. That is why filmmaker Levan Akin will not have it shown in his home country. In 2019, his film And Then We Danced, about a same-sex romance between two men, was protested, including by far-right individuals. It is encouraging that there were protests against parliament overriding President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto of a bill that wants closer watch to be kept on organizations funded by other countries. Most of the protesters were youth who want Georgia to be moving away from Russia’s oppression and control. Discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is banned by law, although same-sex marriage is still illegal.
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The Constitutional Court of Lithuania ruled that the anti-LGBTQ+ portion of the Protection of Minors from Negative Effects of Public Information law, also called the “anti-LGBT propaganda” law, is unconstitutional because it denies respect for human rights and would keep children from developing into mature, well-rounded individuals. For 15 years the law oppressed and silenced the voices of Lithuania’s LGBTQ+ community and their supporters.