On November 20th each year we pay our respects to transgender and other gender diverse people who have been murdered around the world. This is the eleventh year that the event has been acknowledged.
Peter Hyndal from A Gender Agenda said “Transgender Day of Remembrance is a time when we can remember the hundreds of transgender people, who we know are killed each year as a result of violent and targeted attacks. We also acknowledge the many more transgender people who are killed as a result of violent crime but who go unnoticed and unreported.”
“Transgender Day of Remembrance is also a time to celebrate the incredible resilience of transgender people, who live every day of their lives experiencing extremely high levels of discrimination, stigma and abuse.”
“There are many published research reports that document the fact that transgender people continue to face serious discrimination and social exclusion. Even mainstream organisations such as Beyond Blue accept the fact that “almost 90% of trans people experience discrimination”1.
“In a society where transphobic discrimination and violence is so prevalent, current regulations which make it impossible for many transgendered people to obtain identity documentation that reflects their lived identity makes these people even more vulnerable to violence”
“The Australian Human Rights Commission released its “Sex Files” report on the legal recognition of sex in documents and government records in March. It contains 15 recommendations for improving the current system for legally recognizing sex identity. Most of the recommendations relate to provisions contained in existing legislation at a State and Territory, not a Commonwealth level. The ACT Government has not yet responded to the report.”
“It is our view that current ACT laws are not consistent with basic human rights, recognised internationally and supposedly protected in the ACT under the Human Rights Act.”
“The ACT Government has taken an active role in addressing issues of equality for  gay and lesbian Canberrans, and we call on the ACT Government to now focus its attention on addressing the overt discrimination against gender diverse people which remains entrenched in ACT legislation.”