Gender News November 2015 Full Color

Gender News

November 2015

Special Edition Inside TDoR 2015

Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was just after the new year of 1993, I was in the second grade. It was all over the national news, this person from Nebraska had been murdered in a small town. This murder was particularly horrific and I wasn’t allowed to watch much about it.

This young person was shot point blank. I remember my parents talking about it, not saying anything to me. I saw this young person’s face on the news and my dad would change the channel.

Finally, it was January 5th and I asked about it. I asked why this particular murder was on the news so much. I wanted to understand the words they were saying on the television. It sounded horrible. My dad sat me down and said this was going to be hard to explain but he would try.

I remember all this so well because I was so young. It was the first time I heard the word transgender. I remember the sad look on my dad’s face and how he struggled to find the right words. My father is a farmer from a rural community, born and raised in small town Saskatchewan.

He searched for the words and he finally said to me; “This crime happened because a young man was targeted because he was different.

People who said they were his friends didn’t understand that he was born a girl. Brandon wasn’t a girl, he didn’t fit in with girls. He was a boy and people don’t know how to understand that a girl and be a boy and a boy can be a girl.”

I looked at him. I asked him about the word ‘transgender’ and he said that it meant a person who was born one sex but didn’t fit with it, so they become the other sex. I asked about the other horrible words used to

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describe this person and my dad explained a bit more about prejudice and hate in words I could understand. We ended up talking for hours.

Looking back on it now this was a pivotal moment in my life where I discovered the importance of gender diversity and acceptance. My father made sure to educate me about the importance of difference instead of telling me I was ‘too young to understand’. Today I remember Brandon Teena and many others. I light a candle on November 20th in solidarity and I try to make this world a more inclusive place the other 364 days of the year.

Liz Senecal.

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Apathy in Bystanders In this day and age, the transgender community can read about and see its own people being harassed and beaten in articles, pictures and videos posted over the web. It's disturbing, it hits close to home, but there's one particular thing that I'd like to talk about here and that's bystanders. You watch a video of someone in the LGBT community getting assaulted and you notice other people in the video. They're standing around minding their own business, someone's taking the video on a cell phone and it all looks like business as usual. It's as if the assault is happening somewhere else, not in the same location as this person in the video who’s talking with a friend a few feet away. So how does one process that? I'm sitting at home crying over what I'm seeing and in the video people nearby are calmly going about their day. I want to try to understand why they're like that; otherwise it becomes harder for me to believe that people care about the transgender community.

One of the most informative video recordings I've seen is of the murder of KC Haggard in Fresno, California this year. The video exists on several sites on the web, but I would warn anyone that it's graphic and disturbing as it actually shows the murder taking place. We know the victim, we can see what happened clearly on the video, we know when it happened, we know where it happened and, according to Karen Adell Scot, there's good reason to believe that she was targeted as a transgender person (http://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/transgender-person-fatallystabbed-on-street-in-fresno-calif#.uaxxV3Beq; http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/24/watch-fresnocalifornia-murder-marks-11th-killing-trans-woman-us-year). Some of the video clips on the web seem to vary in length. I've seen more than one video of the event in which someone walks by after she fell to the

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ground (http://abc30.com/news/most-wanted-tattoo-shop-catchescentral-fresno-stabbing-on-surveillance-video/877089/). I thought I saw video in which three people walk by her, one taking a brief look at her, but I haven't been able to find that video again. Scot has seen video of it in which several people observe her but don't do anything to help, "No one stopped. She collapsed on the sidewalk and then many pedestrians just did nothing but look at her body on the ground as she bled out." (http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/24/watch-fresnocalifornia-murder-marks-11th-killing-trans-woman-us-year). Haggard remained on the street twenty minutes before a passerby called paramedics. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead (http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/24/watch-fresnocalifornia-murder-marks-11th-killing-trans-woman-us-year).

Earlier this year in San Francisco, California, a trans woman named Samantha Hulsey was stabbed twice by an assailant after he chased her and her partner down while yelling slurs (http://abc7news.com/news/no-hate-crime-charges-in-stabbing-of-sftransgender-woman/463349/). According to the article, San Francisco police won't pursue hate crime charges because it doesn't meet the criteria. Hulsey and Raucci don't know why. "I'd hate to think they're downplaying this as a hate crime because we're transgender and they don't understand that," Raucci said. They were originally on a public bus when the man started yelling slurs at them. They got off the bus and he followed them, at which point the stabbing occurred. So we have two trans women getting yelled at and probably threatened on a public bus with other passengers, eventually having to exit the bus to get away from the barrage of insults. The man follows them and stabs one of them repeatedly. He was able to do this in part because no one intervened.

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We also saw photos and video this year related to the murder of Laura Vermont and beating of Veronica Bolina by police in Brazil.

There is a video of Laura Vermont on the web, again it's graphic and disturbing, having just been assaulted and trying to run away to safety (http://planettransgender.com/two-sao-paulo-police-officers-arrestedfor-the-murder-of-transgender-woman-laura-vermont/). She runs by, says something in another language and then runs away. She says it to the person taking the video on a cell phone. She's bloodied, but the person with the camera seems to do nothing beyond taking the video.

Pictures of Veronica Bolina after an assault can also be seen over the web. They show her surrounded by police, handcuffed, naked down to the waist, her breasts exposed and her face badly beaten (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3054222/Images-transgenderprisoner-face-pulverized-police-stripped-shaved-head-spark-outrageBrazil.html). The police look on, some of them holding rifles, seemingly indifferent. The LGBT community demanded that investigations be made and, in Laura's case, two police officers were eventually charged (http://planettransgender.com/two-sao-paulo-policeofficers-arrested-for-the-murder-of-transgender-woman-laura-vermont/).

Emotions are very real things. You can train people to have a lot of emotion for one thing and little emotion for something else. Every time there's a Rough Rider game in town, people are filled with emotion.

They talk about it all the time and care about it immensely. They don't just have the thought "I like the Riders", they get worked up about it, they get emotional. At the same time though, they weren't born that way, they grew into being Rider fans. They were socialized to like the Riders through commercials and songs that play on their own personality traits and particular life experiences. I'm not a fan of football myself. I haven't had the same life experiences, I haven't been

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trained to like football like those fans have. So I don't get emotional about it. I don't feel happy or sad. I haven’t been conditioned to like it.

So I started thinking about what that meant; to see someone lying on the street and just walk away. People act the way they do in part as the result of socialization, they're trained to think of transgender people in certain ways. We're inundated from day one with messages that people are either male or female. Anything above and beyond the level of chromosomes, like gender, is considered inconsequential.

Transgender people are often depicted in movies, television and magazines as pathetic or deceptive, comedic or dangerous. They're depicted as confused and unstable, somehow missing the point that biology determines who you are. Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) websites characterize their identities as examples of subjectivity and mental content and so as things that will always be trumped by the objectivity of science (biology, social studies). It isn't something you just see in anti-transgender groups, you see it in movies where the killer is a transgender person or the jester in a comedy. You see it in the magazines you walk by as you go to pay for your groceries. You hear it from your parents and teachers at school when you grow up. You hear the messages and you're influenced by the complete lack of anything that challenges the gender binary.

You see prejudices in police investigations. Prostitution and drug use became part of the discussion during the investigation of KC's murder. The investigators in the Fresno police department have noted that the area where she was stabbed is popular for prostitution and that KC was a drug user (http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=70778). It's unclear as to whether the reporters were interested in this kind of information or the police, but the topic was interesting to at least one of

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them. The police also saw no need to refer to KC with the female pronouns, at one point asking "Why is it insensitive?" (http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=70778). The Fresno police are also not pursuing the murder as a hate crime, saying that there is no evidence to suggest she was murdered for being transgender (http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=70778). The police said they received information that KC wasn't transgender and her brother said he was unaware of it, despite the fact that she was wearing women's clothing at the time and there is other evidence to suggest she was exploring her gender identity. Prostitution and drug use are common tropes used in movies and television to depict transgender women. Some transgender people are prostitutes and drug users, but some transgender people also turn to prostitution to survive. Lack of access to employment, housing, shelter, health care and lack of support from family and friends can mean that prostitution is the only viable means of survival. You also see discussion of sexual orientation in the above article, but gender identity and sexual orientation are different things.

In these articles, pictures and videos, you start noticing a paucity of emotion. It just doesn't seem to phase people nearby. They take the video, talk with each other and stare at the victim. In one video, it took an elderly customer wandering into a McDonalds after the vicious assault of Chrissy Polis went on for several minutes for someone to really stand up to the assailants (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379691/Transgender-girlbeaten-seizure-McDonalds-attack-victim-hate-crime.html). One employee makes a few half-hearted attempts to diffuse the situation while other employees stand back, laugh and video tape the assault.

There are other examples, such as the assault of two transgender women

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on a commuter train in Atlanta earlier this year in which bystanders stood around videotaping it (http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/05/30/watchatlanta-trans-women-beaten-train-bystanders-film). There's the assault of a transgender woman in San Diego last year who was insulted and beaten by two men while bystanders stood by doing nothing (http://www.10news.com/news/transgender-woman-says-man-hurledslurs-assaulted-her). In terms of the Fresno video, there was evidence of brief concern on the part of one person, but others walked on by.

Someone is lying on the ground, but who knows what they noticed, maybe they thought she was drunk. If they noticed she was a trans woman, they might have assumed she was intoxicated, but again that would have been the product of prejudice and ignorance. Or they just thought she wasn't worth it, wasn't worth helping, wasn't worth the risk.

She's pathetic or deceptive. If they felt anything, it certainly didn't prompt them to help her.

Part of what may be going on is fear in bystanders of intervening and getting hurt. In the case of the trans woman assaulted in a park in Russia, there appeared to be one or two bystanders, yet there were five men assaulting her (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GueXaV3yFM). In other cases, however, such as the assault on the Atlanta train mentioned earlier, there were many bystanders, several videotaping the assault. If they had all intervened, the assault could have been stopped.

On one hand it helps when assaults are videotaped as that can be used in court as evidence against the attackers, including the designation of the assault as a hate crime. It also helps to educate the public on the challenges the transgender community is facing. On the other hand, these people are videotaping it, rather than trying to stop it. Several could be videotaping it for fun, as suggested by the laughter in the McDonald`s assault and derogatory comments I`ve read on web sites

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about some of these videos. There`s also the chance that news items like these will scare transgender people and keep them from coming out, as noted by one transgender woman who was assaulted (http://www.ketv.com/news/man-charged-with-hate-crime-in-assault-oftransgender-woman/34418648in). I like to think that the broadcasting of videos like these are necessary steps we need to take toward confronting the ignorance in society about what transgender people are going through, but I do recognize how disturbing these things are to read about and watch. This article was quite difficult to write for me and the videos were heart-wrenching to watch. Hopefully they will help bring the transgender community closer together and link it with the resources it needs to help make society less transphobic. At the same time, though, there`s definitely transphobia out there, people who think transgender people are pathetic or deceptive and, as a result, some people just don`t care enough to intervene when a transgender person is being assaulted.

So what do emotions do? They bring us out of our ruts. They force us out of our mental confines into something different. We're thinking a particular way, in a sort of tunnel vision, and emotions, strong emotions, force us out of that state. They shake us up. We're thinking in a dry, detached, dusty, unemotional way and then this wave of wet emotion floods in like water from a broken dam, soaking everything in its path. They motivate and energize. Let's imagine the difference. You see a body on the ground, have a thought about it and walk on by.

Compare that with seeing the body and getting surprised, anxious, upset and angry. You go over to the body, check the person to see if she's okay, provide CPR, call an ambulance and talk to her to reassure her that help is on the way. Your breathing is heavy, you're sweating, your eyes are dilated, your face is red, your heart rate is accelerated and your limbs are moving fast. You're angry and agitated. You're emotional. That's what we should be seeing when this happens, but we don't see it so

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many times. We need to expect it, we need to stop expecting someone to look down and calmly walk by. That's not acceptable, we're worth more than that and if this lack of giving a crap is conditioned into people, then it can be unconditioned.

Stephanie Cox.

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TransSask's Quick Reference Calendar HOLIDAYS (Religious & Secular) LGBTQ+ OBSERVANCES IMPORTANT DATES SPECIAL EVENTS

NOVEMBER TRANSGENDER AWARENESS MONTH Oct 26 – Nov 8: 14 Days of Intersex 01: TransParent Day 01: TransParent Day Brunch (OUTSaskatoon) 03: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 05: Anniversary of Court Ruling on Same-sex Marriage in Saskatchewan (2004) 05: Gender News submission deadline (pub: Nov 15) 05: Parent and Spouse Support Group (Regina) 06: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 06: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 06: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 07: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 08: Intersex Day of Remembrance 08: Intersex Solidarity Day 10: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 11: Diwali 11: Remembrance Day 13: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 13: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 13: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 14: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 15: Gender News – TDoR Special Edition

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17: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance 20: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 20: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 20: TDoR Event (Moose Jaw Pride) 20: TDoR Event (Regina, TransSask) 20: TDoR Event (Saskatoon, USSU Pride) 21: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 24: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 25 – Dec 10: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence 27: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 27: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 27: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 27: TransSask Support Group (Regina) 28: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 29: International Women Human Rights Defenders Day

DECEMBER UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONTH Nov 25 – Dec 10: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence 1 - 5: Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week 01: World AIDS Day 01: Rosa Parks Day 01: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 03: International Day of Persons with Disabilities 03: International Freedressing Awareness Day 03: Aromantic Asexual Day 03: Parent and Spouse Support Group (Regina) 04: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 04: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 04: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina)

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05: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 7 – 14: Hanukkah 08: Saskatchewan Gender Identity Bill Anniversary (2014) 08: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 10: International Human Rights Day 11: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 11: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 11: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 12: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 15: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 15: Gender News submission deadline (pub: Jan 1) 17: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers 18: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 18: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 18: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 19: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 22: Yule / Winter Solstice 22: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 25: Christmas Day 26 – Jan 1: Kwanzaa 26: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 29: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon)

JANUARY 01: New Years Day 01: Gantan Sai (Shinto) 01: Gender News (New Year Issue) 02: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 05: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 07: Feast of the Nativity (Orthodox Christian) 07: Parent and Spouse Support Group (Regina) 08: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 08: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert)

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08: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 09: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 12: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 15: International Fetish Day 15: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 15: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 15: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 16: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 17: Robert Eads Day 18-22: No Name Calling Week 19: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 22: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 22: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 22: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 23: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina) 26: Gender Revolution (Saskatoon) 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day 29: A Latte Pride (Moose Jaw) 29: Queer Coffee (Prince Albert) 29: Gender News (CJTR 91.3FM, Regina) 29: TransSask Support Group (Regina) 30: TransSask Coffee Group (Regina)

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TDoR 2015 Section 2.

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2015 TDoR Special Edition

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About TDOR

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance selfidentified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.

We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on antitransgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance 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.

Note: This page was taken from http://www.rememberingourdead.org/day/what.html The Remembering our Dead Web Project and The Transgender Day of Remembrance are owned by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, All Rights Reserved ©2007

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Speeches From 2014 Regina…

This event is put on by TransSask Support Services and the UR Pride Center for Sexuality and Diversity. I’d first like to thank the UR Pride Center for helping TransSask put on this event. The mission of UR Pride is to provide and promote health, wellness, and social support for University of Regina students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and members of the community at large who feel marginalized on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual and/or gender orientations and/or identities. Their unrelenting support of the LGBT community makes me proud and we couldn’t have put on this event without them. I’m involved in this TDOR event on behalf of TransSask Support Services, a province-wide support and resource network for trans*-identified, genderqueer, intersex and gender non-conforming individuals, their spouses, family, friends and allies.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1998 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most antitransgender murder cases — has yet to be solved. It is held annually on November 20 in over 185 cities and throughout more than 20 countries.

I’m going to read a list of names throughout the evening. These are the 21 |

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names of transgender people around the world who have been murdered from November 20 of 2013 to November 19 of 2014. There are several lists on the web, none of them are definitive or exhaustive. Many murders and much violence goes unnoticed, the information not being made available to the police or the public.

The TDOR lists provide four pieces of information on each of the victims: name, cause of death, location of death and place of death. We know little else about them. In Rosa Ribut’s case, we know that it was blunt force trauma, that she was from Edmonton, Alberta and that her death took place on November 24, 2013. On the web site I used, a source for each person is made available that connects you to a news article about the victim’s death. Reading some of these news articles, I still learned very little about who they were. Ultimately, the victims remain distant. They don’t seem real. What do I know about Rosa Ribut? What was her favorite color, her favorite book, her favorite movie? What were her dreams? What was important to her? What was she afraid of? What made her cry? What did she care about? I don’t know. I don’t have any memories of her. I never spent time with her.

We weren’t friends. I don’t have any memories of her smiling, laughing, enjoying life, listening to music, watching movies, getting bullied, crying, falling down in the snow or breaking up with her boyfriend or girlfriend. If I did have these kinds of memories, it might be more painful to me. I might care more. But I don’t have these memories, nothing comes to mind. Just blackness.

But that’s not acceptable to me. So how do I get myself into a space where I care more? I mean I feel sad when any transgender person is the victim of violence in the world, but then I go back into life and gradually I start focusing on other things. That’s one of my coping techniques, numbing myself to it all, otherwise I couldn’t cope. But right now she

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seems so distant to me, just a name and picture. I need it to mean more to me. How do I really care? I was thinking about that when writing this speech. How do I get into a space where I care about a stranger?

And then it occurred to me that, wait, she did do all those things. She smiled, laughed, she listened to music, she watched movies, she got bullied, she cried, all things I’ve done. I imagined her listening to music, playing a guitar. I’ve played a guitar. So I imagined I was her, playing a guitar, having a blast, rockin’ out. She must have had her heart broken at some point in her life. So I imagined what it was like to be hurt by someone you love. I realized that I’ve been through that and I’ve felt the same thing. She dreamed of living her life as a woman, just as I have countless times. I know what it feels like to be prevented from living as who I really feel like inside. I know what it feels like to hide, to not live as a woman for what seems like an eternity. So I know this person felt things. She felt joy and pain, happiness and sorrow. And she isn’t able to feel those things anymore.

But now she seems more like a real person to me. She seems less distant, more real, more full, more complex, more three-dimensional.

She has desires, she has fears. She was alive, she experienced things, just as we do. Now I care more, a lot more. What a horrible thing it is to be robbed of those things.

I get scared when I walk around town. I’ve been insulted, laughed at, threatened, had rocks thrown at me, had pictures taken of me while being called “It”. It can get to a point where you’re scared of everyone.

One thing I realized when writing this was that it’s easier to be scared of someone when you see them as something distant, something you don’t understand, something you don’t feel any connection to. You just see them as a threat, you just think of what they might do to you. You don’t see them as a full, real, complex person who has hopes and fears of their 23 |

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own. You don’t consider the idea that you might have something in common with that person. You might share similar experiences. You might have something in common that would help you bridge that distance, that fear of the unknown. This is something that might underlie the distance we feel between each other in society, the presumption that we can’t understand each other, that we have nothing in common. But we all have something in common, no matter how much it seems to the contrary. We all care about something, we all have hopes and fears, we all have things that make us happy, things that make us sad. Hopefully sometime in the future society will get to a point where they understand transgender people more and realize that we are full, complex, real people. Not people to be scared of, but instead people to get to know and become friends with.

~Stephanie Cox Transgender Day of Remembrance, 2014

Saskatoon‌

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Every year for the past 16, communities across the country and throughout the world come together on this day to read the names of the people taken from us by violence,

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light a candle in their memory, and pledge that their lives will not be forgotten.

In Saskatchewan, we have gathered in Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon. But I know there are many of us who cannot join these gatherings, who are lighting candles on their own, in the major centres and in outlying areas. Despite our differences, we are a community.

Also, at Wanuskewin, people are gathered for the Walking with our Sisters Exhibit. Some of these murdered and missing sisters, and brothers, are two-spirit and transgender people.

We gather today in solidarity with all people who have been oppressed by violence.

-Transgender Day of Remembrance is a memorial.

-In the face of pervasive discrimination, harassment, and violence, it is a way for us to show that transgender lives are valuable.

-It is this perceived lack of value that underpins so many of the challenges that those of us in the transgender community face.

-Harassment in school often leads to a lack of educational opportunity.

-Discrimination in the workplace leaves many trans people chronically under- and unemployed.

-Housing is denied to youth living at home, to transgender people seeking accommodation in shelters, and to renters.

-Access to health care is obstructed by lack of resources, outdated policies, and unprepared health care providers.

While many of us have been victimized, we are not victims.

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

-Transgender Day of Remembrance is also an act of resistance and dignity.

-It is a protest for justice.

-It is a sharing of awareness for the vulnerable.

-It is a time of mutual support.

-It is a celebration of hope.

-And it is a commitment to change.

~Miki Mappin Saskatoon TDoR 2014

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Several other people and families were contacted to be submitted as a personal Canadian TDoR highlight. But at time of publication no return contact was received. Gender News wishes to respect all persons involved and do not wish to cause any harm intentionally, therefore these individuals from present and past TDoR’s will not be included.

Autumn Faith Lapointe ~ Creative Director

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Brandy Wesaquate, 28 Regina, Saskatchewan.

January 1, 2012.

You are missed by so many. Gone in a glimpse of a moment. Never forgotten and held close to the heart.

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Sumaya Dalmar, 26 Toronto, Ontario Febuary 22, 2015

Fairly new to Canada, She was a very popular girl. Everyone liked her.

She was an advocate for transgender rights in her community.

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Divas Boulanger, 28.

Winnipeg, Manitoba September 28, 2015

You were there for your family when they needed you most. You have never been forgotten and you are held close to the heart. Sadly missed as days go by. Taken far too soon from this world.

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Taken but never forgotten in 2015.

————————————— Keyshia Blige (33 years old) Cause of death: Shooting Location of death: Aurora, Illinois, USA Date of death: March 7th, 2015 ————————————— Tamara Dominguez (36 years old) Cause of death: repeatedly run over by vehicle Location of death: Kansas City, Missouri, USA Date of death: August 15th, 2015 ————————————— Kandis Capri (35 years old) Cause of death: shooting Location of death: Phoenix, Arizona, USA Date of death: August 11th, 2015 ————————————— Amber Monroe (20 years old) Cause of death:gunshot Location of death:Detroit, Michigan, USA Date of death: August 8th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Ashton O’Hara (25 years old) Cause of death: Stabbed to death, ran over by vehicle Location of death: Detroit, Michigan, USA Date of death: July 14th, 2015 ————————————— Shade Schuler (22 years old) Cause of death: unknown, found dead in a field.

Location of death: Dallas, Texas, USA Date of death: July 29th, 2015 ————————————— K.C. Haggard (66 years old) Cause of death: multiple stab wounds Location of death: Fresno, California, USA Date of death: July 24th, 2015 ————————————— India Clarke (22 years old) Cause of death: gunshot to the head and arm Location of death: Tampa, Florida, USA Date of death: July 21st, 2015 —————————————

Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

————————————— Mercedes Williamson (17 years old) Cause of death: Beaten to death Location of death: Rocky Creek, Alabama, USA Date of death: May 30th, 2015 ————————————— Penny Proud (21 years old) Cause of death: shooting Location of death: Tremé, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Date of death: February 10th, 2015 ————————————— Taja Gabrielle DeJesus (36 years old) Cause of death: multiple stab wounds Location of death: San Francisco, USA Date of death: Feburary 8th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Bri Golec (22 years old) Cause of death: stabbed to death Location of death: Akron, Ohio, USA Date of death: February 13th, 2015 ————————————— Lamia Beard (30 years old) Cause of death: shooting Location of death: Norfolk, Virginia, USA Date of death: January 17th, 2015 ————————————— Papi Edwards (20 years old) Cause of death: shooting Location of death: Louisville, Kentucky, USA Date of death: January 9th, 2015 ————————————— Nephi Luthers (20 years old) Cause of death: shooting Location of death: Georgetown, Guyana Date of death: July 21st, 2015 —————————————

Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

————————————— Diosvany Muñoz Robaina (24 years old) Cause of death: stoning Location of death: Pinar del Río, Cuba Date of death: April 26th, 2015 ————————————— C.N. Alves de Matos Jr (21 years old) Cause of death: stabbed and dismembered Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: September 25th, 2015 ————————————— Unknown (41 years old) Cause of death: severe head and neck trauma Location of death: Alicante, Spain Date of death: July 21th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— L.A. de Souza, (22 years old) Cause of death: found in landfill with knife in neck Location of death: Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: September 30th, 2015 ————————————— Waleska Rayala, (21 years old) Cause of death: 27 stab wounds Location of death: Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Date of death: September 2nd, 2015 ————————————— Paulinha Cause of death: gunshots to head and chest Location of death: Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Date of death: September 8th, 2015 ————————————— Flower, (39 years old) Cause of death : beaten to death Location of death: Parintins, Amazonas, Brazil Date of death: August 27th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— V.H.A dos Santos , (25 years old) Cause of death : multiple gunshot wounds Location of death: Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Date of death: August 24th, 2015 ————————————— Patricia, (29 years old) Cause of death : unknown cause of death, thrown into bush Location of death: Santa Terezinha, Piracicaba, Brazil Date of death: August 3rd, 2015 ————————————— Unknown, (45 years old) Cause of death : Gunshot wound to the head Location of death: Alta Floresta d’Oeste, Rondônia, Brazil Date of death: July 25th, 2015 ————————————— Gabi, (26 years old) Cause of death : Beaten to death Location of death: Valparaíso de Goiás, Brazil Date of death: July 19th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Erika Aguilera, (25 years old) Cause of death : Gunshot wound to the back Location of death: Dourados, Brazil Date of death: July 16th, 2015 ————————————— India Nascimento, (29 years old) Cause of death: Beaten to death Location of death: Pernambuco, Brazil Date of death: July 12th, 2015 ————————————— L.R.O. Dorta, (26 years old) Cause of death: Decapitated Location of death: Pernambuco, Brazil Date of death: July 12th, 2015 ————————————— Vanessa Calaça, (27 years old) Cause of death: Stoned to death Location of death: Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil Date of death: July 12th, 2015 ————————————— Unknown woman Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds to the back and abdomen Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Date of death: June 30th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Unknown woman Cause of death: stab wound to the neck Location of death: Cacoal, Rondônia, Brazil Date of death: July 5th, 2015 ————————————— Bruna J. Mendes, (27 years old) Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds ]Location of death: Itapebi, Bahia, Brazil Date of death: June 29th, 2015 ————————————— Sidney Araújo Claudino, (19 years old) Cause of death: Shotgun gunshot wound to the chest Location of death: Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil Date of death: June 23rd, 2015 ————————————— Laura Vermont, (18 years old) Cause of death: Beaten to death by police Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: June 20th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Kauane da Silva, (35 years old) Cause of death: Gunshot to the head Location of death: Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Date of death: June 13th, 2015 ————————————— Unknown woman Cause of death: Unknown cause of death, buried in shallow grave Location of death: Serra, Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Date of death: June 9th, 2015 ————————————— Kelly Silva, (31 years old) Cause of death: stabbed in neck and arm Location of death: Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Date of death: June 9th, 2015 ————————————— Andréia Amado, (29 years old) Cause of death: Gunshot Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Date of death: June 4th, 2015 ————————————— Carol Melo, (30 years old) Cause of death: strangled to death Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Date of death: June 3th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Priscilla da Silva, (23 years old) Cause of death: Gunshot Location of death: Dois Riachos, Alagoas, Brazil Date of death: May 30th, 2015 ————————————— ————— Barbara Sodre, (29 years old) Cause of death: Stabbed to death Location of death: Sergipe, Brazil Date of death: May 25th, 2015 ————————————— Jean Waltrick, (27 years old) Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds to the head Location of death: Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil Date of death: May 23rd, 2015 ————————————— Vandressa Vinnitt Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Date of death: May 18th, 2015 ————————————— Ticiane Abravanel, (21 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil Date of death: May 18th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— La Monique de Roma, (43 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Butantã, São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: May 14th, 2015 ————————————— unidentified woman Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil Date of death: May 3rd, 2015 ————————————— Stefanny Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Caucaia, Ceará, Brazil Date of death: April 30th, 2015 ————————————— Job Rodrigues da Silva, (46 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil Date of death: April 17th, 2015 ————————————— unidentified woman Cause of death: beaten and strangled to death Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Date of death: April 17th, 2015 —————————————

Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

————————————— Bruna, (47 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil Date of death: April 16th, 2015 ————————————— Bruna Quércia, (15 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil Date of death: April 15th, 2015 ————————————— Victória Camargo, (29 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Venâncio Aires, Brazil Date of death: April 13th, 2015 ————————————— Bruna Michele, (20 years old) Cause of death: beaten to death Location of death: Belo Horizonte, Brazil Date of death: April 13th, 2015 ————————————— Vanessa Ganzaroli, (18 years old) Cause of death: multiple stab wounds Location of death: Petrolina, Pernambuc, Brazil Date of death: April 3rd, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Debora Cause of death: stoned to death Location of death: Mogi Mirim, São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: April 2nd, 2015 ————————————— Lotinha Cause of death: stabbed Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Date of death: March 29th, 2015 ————————————— Adriana, (22 years old) Cause of death: multiple gunshots Location of death: Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil Date of death: March 22th, 2015 ————————————— Bianca Araujo, (21 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil Date of death: March 20th, 2015 ————————————— Michael Lucas de Almeida Reginald, (13 years old) Cause of death: beaten, multiple stab wounds Location of death: Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: March 18th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Natália Ferraz, (21 years old) Cause of death: multiple gunshots Location of death: Caçapava, São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: February 27th, 2015 ————————————— Ygor Fernando Oliveira Santos, (20 years old) Cause of death: multiple gunshots Location of death: Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas, Brazil Date of death: February 27th, 2015 ————————————— Keity, (23 years old) Cause of death: multiple stab wounds (10) Location of death: Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Date of death: February 24th, 2015 ————————————— Lara, (16 years old) Cause of death: stoned to death Location of death: Parauapebas, Pará, Brazil Date of death: February 22nd, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— unidentified woman Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds Location of death: Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Date of death: February 20th, 2015 ————————————— Raíssa, (19 years old) Cause of death: multiple stab wounds to neck and chest Location of death: Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil Date of death: February 16th, 2015 ————————————— Capitú Santos, (31 years old) Cause of death: stabbing Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Date of death: February 16th, 2015 ————————————— Joyce Akira, (teen) Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds Location of death: Mangabeira, Joao Pessoa, Brazil Date of death: February 8th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— Pata, (35 years old) Cause of death: strangled to death Location of death: Macapá, Amapá, Brazil Date of death: February 7th, 2015 ————————————— Didinha, (18 years old) Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds Location of death: Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil Date of death: February 1st, 2015 ————————————— unidentified woman Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Lorena, São Paulo, Brazil Date of death: March 17th, 2015 —————————————

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————————————— LÉO, (26 years old) Cause of death: gunshot Location of death: Vitoria da Conquista, Bahia, Brazi Date of death: January 26th, 2015 ————————————— Piu da Silva, (25 years old) Cause of death: beaten, multiple gunshot wounds Location of death: Nilópolis, Rio de Janeiroa, Brazil Date of death: January 22nd, 2015 ————————————— ————————————— ————————————— —————————————

Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

As names are read, the lives of so many persons from our community flash before our eyes. As we tear up and remember them, the emotions of loss, fear, and anger overwhelm us. I want to bring us back to Joy, back to Hope. As we think of the tragic and horrific ways that each one of our Transgender family have left this life, either through their own hand or that of an uncaring other, I ask that instead of turning hard and resentful of a world that was unkind, that is not accepting of the gift that is every life of a Transgender, Two Spirit, Transsexual, Gender diverse, Queer or Questioning soul, that we celebrate their life, that we are joyful that their true Spirit was known to us, known to their family and known to the world.

I am taken back to a time not so long ago when I too felt the darkness of depression and the fear of a world that did not know who I am and would not accept me should I dare to share my true identity, a time when suicide was my friend and this world my enemy.

Quickly though I am snapped back to the present and thoughts of how did I, how did we arrive here at this place, at this time. For myself I thought it was the light of my wife Patricia, our children Alex and Jake, kind and loving souls once strangers now dear friends, Mikayla, Miki, Jett, Pastor Carla, Russell, Mitch aka (Roxy Diva), and so, so many more. I thought it was their kind and loving spirits that brought me back to a joyful loving existence, through the power of their glorious presence.

What I was once blind to, once neither believed nor accepted-- The truth, a truth I was once told not to share and believed did not exist.

The truth is that it was my light, the powerful beacon within ME, within each and every one of us that drew them to me. That soul that I am, that the soul within each and every one of us whether Transgender,

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Transsexual, Two Spirit, Gender non-conforming, Queer , Questioning however We identify. Our Spirit is glorious, wonderful. Is worthy of kindness, is worthy of love, is worthy of respect both by the world around us and OURSELVES. It is our responsibility to leave here full of Life. Let us not mourn the loss of those in our community but rather celebrate their life and carry forward our fight for recognition, acceptance and respect. Hold them close to your heart as you celebrate who you are, who we are. Celebrate that we are walking out into a world that knows we exist, a world that wants to embrace and joyfully engage our community but does not always know how to do so. Celebrate that through us, through our visibility the world is becoming a kinder gentler place and we are making a difference for all those like us who come behind us.

With joy in your heart and hope in your spirit celebrate that gift that we are to the world each and every day.

Laura Budd

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Gender news is a TransSask Publication / Gendernews@transsask.org

Points to Ponder _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _______________________________

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Gender News is owned by TransSask Services. We are always looking for submissions for the next exciting issue. Always looking for stories, essays, pictures, graphics, comics or anything that could go into a pdf / e- magazine. If you have something you would like to contribute, you can email GenderNews@TransSask.org, Or contact our Creative Director, Autumn Faith Lapointe via gendernews@transsask.og Re: Autumn.

We are looking at a first of January 2016 publication date, so the deadline is the 15th of December, 2015.

If you are interested in getting involved, please consider joining the editorial group. Email us at GenderNews@TransSask.org.

Of course, be sure to subscribe to Gender News... http://goo.gl/W6ebAw

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2015 TDoR Services can be found in the following places. ~Saskatoon: TDoR will be at 6pm on November 20 in the Neatby Timlin Hall, (main theatre) Arts 241 ~Regina, Sk: Transgender Day of Remembrance 2015.

Friday, November 20 at 6:00pm Unitarian Centre, 2700 College Ave. ~Moose Jaw,Sk: NOV 20 Trans Day of Remembrance 2015 Friday, November 20 at 6:30pm St. Andrew's United Church, Moose Jaw

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