At least 32 trans people killed in the U.S. in 2022: report
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A person holds a transgender pride flag at a rally to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York in June 2019. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
At least 32 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been killed in the U.S. in 2022, according to a new annual report published Wednesday by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Why it matters: This year has been marked by a "shocking wave of anti-transgender legislation" nationwide, with 34 states introducing more than 145 anti-trans bills, the largest number recorded by the HRC in a state legislative session.
- States have enacted 25 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, including 17 anti-transgender laws across 13 states, the report found.
- This week commemorates Transgender Awareness Week, ahead of the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday.
State of play: In 2o22, trans people of color comprised 81% of the victims killed, and 59% were Black, according to the report.
- 81% of the trans people killed this year were trans women, and 81% were also under the age of 35.
- 72% of fatalities this year involved a firearm.
- The deaths in 2022 spanned 17 states and 26 cities and towns, with Florida and Michigan tying for the most deaths, at 4 victims each. Texas and Pennslyvania each recorded three deaths.
- HRC noted in the report that the figure 32 is likely an undercount because trans people's deaths can often go unreported or are reported without being properly identified as trans or gender non-conforming.
The big picture: HRC has recorded at least 302 deaths of trans and gender non-conforming people since 2013, when it began tracking the data.
- Since 2013, more than 85% of the victims have been people of color and about 69% were Black. About 85% of victims were trans women.
- In 40% of the cases over the last decade, "no arrest has been made, and the killer remains unknown, or a named suspect remains at large," the report stated.
- In 2021, HRC recorded the 59 cases of fatal violence against trans and gender-nonconforming people, the highest ever since it began tracking the figure in 2013, the report stated in an update to its previous year's annual report.
What they're saying: "Ten years and over three hundred deaths that we know of is a grim milestone," Tori Cooper, Director of Community Engagement for HRC's Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a news release.
- "I call on transgender people everywhere and our allies to respond to this dark moment by advocating anywhere and everywhere, to whomever will listen, in support of our lived & legal equality — and, most importantly, our lives."
Go deeper: Almost half of trans people in U.S. are teens and young adults
