November 18 2025

Observed annually on November 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is a commemorative day to remember the transgender and gender-diverse people who have been murdered in acts of anti-transgender violence. TDoR grew out of a vigil held in 1999 to remember Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett, two Black, transgender women who were killed in Boston in 1998 and 1995 respectively.

The independent archive Remembering Our Dead reports that 354 transgender and gender-diverse people were killed during the 2025 TDoR reporting period of 1 Oct, 2024-30 Sep, 2025.

Every November, Trans Europe and Central Asia (TGEU) releases an annual update of its global Trans Murder Monitoring project. This research project has documented the murders of transgender and gender-diverse people globally since 2009. Some key statistics from the 2025 report:

• 281 transgender and gender diverse people were reported murdered between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025.
• Sex workers (34%) remain the most targeted group of all known occupations.
• There is a notable rise in murders of activists and movement leaders, who are the second most targeted group by occupation this year, accounting for 14% of cases (up from 9% in 2024 and 6% in 2023).
• Echoing the pattern of previous years, 90% of reported murders were feminicides (victims were transgender women or transfeminine people).
• 88% of victims were Black or persons of colour, a 5% decrease from the all-time high last year (93%).
• Age distribution: 24% of murder victims were aged 19–25, 25% aged 26–30, 26% aged 31–40, and 5% under 18.

TGEU states, “as in previous years, Black and transgender women of colour, and transgender sex workers are over-represented among murder victims, with sex workers being the most targeted (34%) of all known occupations. This highlights how misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and whorephobia [the fear, stigmatization and/or hatred of sex workers] intersect in deadly ways.”

Transgender people, particularly transgender people who are Black, Indigenous, or a person of colour, face some of the highest rates of violent crime in Canada.

Statistics Canada states that police-reported hate crimes targeting a gender identity or expression increased in 2023 by 37% compared to the previous year. These crimes have more than doubled (+151%) since 2020.

Police-reported hate crimes are an imperfect measure. Statistics Canada notes that, “victims of crime may also be influenced (in terms of their likelihood to report a crime to police) by, among other things, language barriers, level of trust or confidence in police and the justice system, and fear of further victimization or stigma by the very act of reporting a crime”. As a result, the rate of anti-transgender violence is likely far higher.

This is backed up by results from the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, which shows that transgender and non-binary people in Canada are more likely than cisgender people to have been sexually or physically assaulted at least once since the age of 15 (59% vs. 37%).

A peer-reviewed report published in 2024 found that anti-transgender legislation in the US has had a significant impact on the number of suicide attempts undertaken by transgender and non-binary youth. Youth of colour were more likely to report past-year suicide attempts compared with white youth, and younger youth were more likely compared with their older peers.

The attack on transgender rights in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and the wilful use of the not withstanding clause to suspend the human rights of transgender youth and athletes foster a climate of fear and hatred.

“An environment that fosters hatred is one that puts the lives of transgender and gender-diverse people at risk—particularly those who belong to one or more other equity-deserving groups,” said Bert Blundon, NUPGE President. NUPGE will continue fighting governments that trample human rights and encourage hatred and discrimination. We also encourage members to read this reflection piece from Queer Momentum to learn more about how they personally can engage in the fight.