Anti-Transgender Hate Violence: Mobilizing Communities After High Profile Crimes

Anti-transgender hate violence presents complex and compounded challenges for both victims and services providers. Hate violence often crumbles a community’s sense of safety and renders members powerless and vulnerable. To be effective, providers must be able to appreciate and respond to the various levels and meanings hate violence carries. Through a blend of didactic and experiential modalities, national statistics on anti- transgender hate violence, including sexual assault. Many transgender people also belong to other traditionally marginalized groups along other axes of identity such as race, class, incarceration history, immigration status, or ability and so are far more often targeted for severe violence. One city’s successful response to the 2010 murder of an African-American transgender woman, will be presented and analyzed for applicability to other communities. Best practices and resources will encourage participants to implement changes in their communities and organizations.