Anna's Place

TDoR

The International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is an annual event held on 20th November to remember trans people and others lost as a result of transphobia (either direct or societal).

The Bournemouth Trans Day of Remembrance event in November 2017

TDoR was started by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in response to the murder of Rita Hester in November 1998. Since 2010, Transgender Europe have been helping to compile data for memorial events.

I first become aware of TDoR after learning of the murder of Gwen Araujo in October 2002. At the time I was preparing for my own transition and her murder made me realise how vulnerable that made me. Needless to say that revelation came as a very sobering experience.

Since 2015 I have been helping out with the Bournemouth TDoR vigil, and since late 2017 I have been volunteering as an admin for the Trans Violence News Facebook group.

The blogpost Remembering Our Dead never gets any easier gives my own perspective on what I've learnt doing so, but be warned that is grim reading.

Say their names.