According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), people who identify as transgender are 28% more likely to experience physical violence than those who are not trans-identified.

And each year, a tragic number of transgender individuals lose their lives due to acts of anti-transgender violence.

On November 20, people across the world will honor the memory of the transgender individuals who lost their lives due to violence in the past year during the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was created to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in November 1998. A year after her death, transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith created the “Remembering Our Dead” web project, and a San Francisco candlelight vigil was held to commemorate Rita’s death, as well as the deaths of all transgender people lost to violence that year.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance site shares the importance of this day, as well as the several purposes it serves:

• It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform.
• It publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten.
• Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred.
• Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers.
• Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.

You can participate in the Transgender Day of Remembrance by attending a vigil on November 20th to honor all those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence this year.

Many of our members are holding vigils in their states, which you can learn more about via their websites, or click here to view a full list of events nationwide.

Our work to end discrimination and violence against the entire LGBT community is far from over. This Thursday, join with communities across the country and around the world who will mark Transgender Day of Remembrance.