A record number of transferees were murdered in the United States last year, nearly 60. In a year and a half, a total of more than 600 bills restricting the rights of minorities have been introduced in various states.
Florida hair stylist Alexus Braxton posted an update on Facebook on January 28, 2021 in which he said he was living a good life without fear. She had attached two pictures to the text, one of which she is a 15-year-old teenager and the other a 45-year-old proud transgender woman.
A week later, he was found murdered in his home in Miami. Police have not been able to find out about the crime described as brutal or its motive.
Alexus Braxton was one of at least 57 trans people who fell victim to a homicide in the United States last year. The Human Rights Campaign for the Protection of the Rights of Sexual and Gender Minorities (HRC) homicide statistics (go to another service) According to him, last year was the darkest time in the United States.
Black transgender women in particular are the victims of violence, accounting for 66% of all transgender people killed. The HRC is unable to say how much of the homicides meet the characteristics of a hate crime, as many of the crimes remain unresolved or police statistics are incomplete.
Murders of transgender people have continued this year as well, with at least 14 people already killed in the spring, according to HRC statistics.
The most recent case is on May 14, when Nedra Sequence Morris shot in Opa Lock, Florida. The HRC memoir refers to the intensified anti-rhetoric in Florida.
To limit the rights of minorities, the avalanche of draft laws
Numerous U.S. states have enacted or are attempting to enact laws that significantly undermine the rights of transgender people.
According to HRC statistics, a total of 268 different draft laws targeting sexual and gender minorities were pending in 35 states last year. This spring, the running of draft laws has only accelerated, as a total of 336 new proposals have already been made in the 36 states during the spring.
Legislators have specifically targeted transgender girls. Proposed or already approved laws range from restricting the use of toilets and changing rooms to preventing participation in competitive sports, bans on schooling, and restrictions on medical care.
In addition to the laws, politicians are working on various regulations and guidelines. In Texas, for example, parents are threatened with assault charges if they allow their children to begin the process of sex correction.
Some of the hundreds of bills fall through the process or at various courts, but many of them have passed state decision-making bodies. Democratic President Joe Biden has strongly condemned such laws.
– Hostile legislative attacks against members of our LGBTQI + community are unacceptable in the United States or anywhere else. They encourage discrimination and can incite violence. They are based on the same ignorance and intolerance we see around the world, Biden roared in a statement (you switch to another service) earlier this month.
Hate crimes are becoming more common in the United States
At the same time as the climate of social debate is accelerating, hate crimes in government statistics have also increased in the United States. Federal Police FBI Stats (Switch to Another Service) by 2020, hate crimes related to the victim’s gender identity increased by 30 percent.
Hate crimes related to sexual orientation or gender identity accounted for more than a fifth of all cases.
The number of all hate crimes in the United States at that time rose to its highest level in two decades. A total of about 8,000 hate crime cases were registered, involving a total of more than 11,000 crimes. One case may involve several different criminal titles. Among other things, murders, rapes, assaults and harassment were recorded in the statistics.
The actual total number of hate crimes is estimated to be much higher than FBI statistics. Statistics from across the country are incomplete, as statistics on hate crimes are voluntary. Victims may also be reluctant to report the motive for hatred to the authorities.
Working in the Human Rights Campaign Jared Todd tells in an email interview that hate speech against the trans community increases anger and violence. Legislative projects that divide the speeches and opinions of politicians to certain people act as an incentive to take action.
“Politicians who, through legislation and malicious rhetoric, have decided to attack the trans community, especially young people and families, are using their power to appeal to their extremists,” Todd analyzes.
Anger and violence have also increased in Finland
Hate speech causes minority stress, which has been studied to have negative effects on body and mind health, relationships, and self-image, especially if there are not enough protective factors (you switch to another service)says the social director at the Seta Gender Diversity Competence Center Enni Happonen.
Source: Seta
– The social climate and campaigning for gender minorities can cause fear, anxiety and anxiety about one’s own situation. Fear states can cause bodily alertness and over-alertness, avoidance of situations, anger and frustration, as well as feelings of worthlessness and shame, Happonen says.
According to research (Research review as a pdf file) (you move to another service) for example, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts are more common in young people than in other young people. However, Happonen emphasizes that transhumanity itself does not cause mental imbalance. When a child is allowed to practice and express his or her own gender in the way he or she wants, he or she has as good opportunities to realize himself or herself as other children and young people.
American according to the survey (you move to another service) those children and young people who are allowed to make a social transition, that is, who are treated according to their own gender identity, have as good a mental well-being as others.
According to Happonen, hate speech and violence have increased worldwide and also in Finland. Seta is concerned about the under-reporting of hate crimes and bullying and harassment of transgender people in Finland. Happonen says that the protection against discrimination is not implemented in practice and the promotion of equality is not implemented effectively enough.
– For example, Seta’s school visits are being prevented, young people’s right to self-determination is not being respected and children’s right to be informed about the diversity of gender and sexual orientation is being called into question.