In its first few weeks the $4 millionLGBT Rapid Response Fund received more than 235 applications from organizations providing HIV services.
The fund supports organizations working with LGBT in 29 countries in response to situations where HIV services are threatened because of stigma, discrimination or violence.
Grants from $500 to $20,000 are available from the fund which is supported by the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and UNAIDS.
Sir Elton John said: “This work is badly needed. In a short space of time, the fund received more than 235 applications. Each request makes horribly clear just how much LGBT human rights abuses serve as a barrier to ending AIDS. Now more than ever it’s time for government leaders and philanthropists to join efforts to overcome the anti-LGBT stigma, discrimination and violence that is making the HIV epidemic worse.”
Shaun Mellors, Director Knowledge and Influence at the International HIV AIDS Alliance, said: “Stigma, discrimination and violence mean HIV services for LGBT people and men who have sex with men are regularly prevented from operating.
“Today’s report highlights what’s been achieved in the fund’s first few weeks alone. It has helped re-house people living with HIV targeted after police raids in Uganda; supported homeless people from the LGBT community left without HIV medication after a natural disaster in Jamaica; and supported LGBT groups that have come under threat as a result of state-sponsored crackdowns in East Africa.”
In the northern Bay Area Thursday, the nonprofit Food for Thought in Sonoma County will join with numerous area restaurants to honor World AIDS Day with the 15th annual Dining Out for Life.
The 87 restaurants and cafes participating will donate 25 percent to 50 percent of the day’s sales to the nonprofit, which provides nutritional services to over 800 people living with HIV and other serious illnesses in the county.
“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” stated Ron Karp, Food for Thought’s executive director. “The proceeds from Dining Out for Life ensure that we’re able to keep providing fresh groceries, a congregate lunch program, produce from our organic garden, vitamins and supplements, and nutrition education to our clients, who receive these services for free and for as long as they need them.”
Food For Thought hopes to raise over $165,000 from the event. For the complete restaurant list, visit http://www.FFTfoodbank.org.
Dining Out for Life spokesman and Project Runway All Stars winner Mondo Guerra will also reveal a video Thursday meant to emphasize “Pozitivity.”
“When I was first diagnosed with HIV, I could have chosen to see my status as devastating – and respond accordingly,” Guerra said in a news release. “Instead, I made a conscious choice to live with HIV in ways that challenge and inspire me both as an artist and as an advocate. … I now choose to live each and every day with a positive spirit, and I’m positive that I am better for it. That’s the power of pozitivity that I hope to share.”
Inscribe in the Castro
Also Thursday, starting at about 10 a.m., students from Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro district will lead the second annual “Inscribe” event, where local residents, business people, and visitors will use colorful sidewalk chalk (provided) to write messages and draw pictures on the sidewalks in the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street (between Market and 19th streets).
Inscribe is the brainchild of community activist George Kelly. Last year, the collaboration between the Castro elementary school and a group of long-term HIV survivors called Honoring Our Experience saw the names of more than 1,000 people written out along the sidewalks.
The amfAR Institute will hold an HIV Cure Summit Thursday in Robertson Auditorium at the UCSF Mission Bay campus, 1675 Owens Street. The summit runs from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by a reception.
Organizers said the forum will include a community update on progress toward an HIV cure featuring leaders from the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research.
At 5 p.m. Thursday in San Jose, World AIDS Day will be marked with the City Hall tower being illuminated in red. People attending are asked to wear white.
“HIV/AIDS continues to disproportionately affect communities of color, youth, women, and the trans community,” organizers said.
San Francisco Interfaith Council
At 4 p.m. Sunday, December 4, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores Street, will host the San Francisco Interfaith Council in recognition of World AIDS Day. The theme is “Where We Find Hope.”
“Many think that the threat of AIDS/HIV is over,” Reverend Maggi Henderson, pastor of Old First Presbyterian Church, said in an email. “Others believe that an HIV diagnosis is a death sentence. Reality lies between these beliefs. My church experienced horrific loss of life in the 1980s and 1990s, but it made us step up, offer support for our members and friends, and advocate for the LGBTQ community. I would love to see the day when this service can be canceled because a cure has been found. However, until that day this service is a place for grief, remembrance, hope, empowerment and advocacy.”
The service will include music by the choral group Lady Parts and Cantor Sharon Bernstein, prayers from a variety of interfaith traditions, and various speakers.
The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a pattern of armed robberies over the past several weeks that have targeted males via social websites and dating apps. One such app, Grindr, has been the network of choice, according to police.
Police say the suspects lured the victims to apartment buildings in Northeast Baltimore and robbed them. In two of the cases the laundry room in an apartment building was utilized and a black semi-automatic weapon was displayed. Two cars were stolen but later recovered.
The robberies occurred Oct. 25 and Nov. 6 on Loch Raven Boulevard, Nov. 10 on Hillen Road and Nov. 11 on Woodbourne Avenue.
“People will use whatever means they can and criminals will use online dating as an opportunity to get your stuff,” Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith told WJZ-TV.
The suspects are described as follows: a black male, about 19 years old, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, gray hoodie, red sneakers; a black male, about 20 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches, 170 pounds, beard and mustache, dark color bomber jacket; and a black male, 5 feet, 6 inches, 150 pounds, 19 years old, glasses, black North Face jacket.
Police offered the following tips to those who use web and apps for dating or shopping: Always meet in a well-lit public place and stay in a public place; send pictures of the person to your friends; daytime is better for first meets; cross check the person through other social media sites; stay sober; drive yourself; trust your intuition and ask questions, plenty of them.
One of Donald Trump’s latest picks for his administration outed her gay brother to her parents before he died of AIDS in 1995, refusing to see him in his dying days and blaming his condition on paternal abuse her family said never happened.
On Friday, President-elect Trump announced he has selected as his deputy national security adviser Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland, who works as a Fox News commentator and unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in New York to challenge Hillary Clinton for her U.S. Senate seat in 2006.
“I am proud that KT has once again decided to serve our country and join my national security team,” Trump said in a statement. “She has tremendous experience and innate talent that will complement the fantastic team we are assembling, which is crucial because nothing is more important than keeping our people safe.”
A Pentagon official in the Reagan administration, McFarland in 2006 sought to run against Clinton for her Senate seat and was considered a moderate in her bid for the Republican nomination.
A profile piece for New York Times Magazine in 2006, however, reported she “couldn’t abide” her brother being gay. The article unearthed a 1992 letter to her parents in which she reportedly outed her brother, Michael Troia, shortly after she discovered he had AIDS, blamed her family’s troubles as a result of childhood abuse.
“Have you ever wondered why I have never had anything to do with Mike and have never let my daughters see him although we live only fifteen minutes away from each other?” McFarland reportedly wrote. “He has been a lifelong homosexual, most of his relationships brief, fleeting one-night stands.”
Pressed about her brother by New York Magazine for the 2006 profile piece, all McFarland would reportedly say about him was “Ummmm. He was sick and then he died.” According to the article, McFarland said her memory of her father’s behavior toward her family surfaced as a recovered memory and a therapist put her up to writing the letter.
An obituary in The New York Times listed three “companions” for Michael Troia, who died of AIDS on June 8, 1995, and said after graduating from George Washington University he became a longtime credit analyst at Merrill Lynch, according to a report in The New York Post,
Seeking to tamp down the impact of the New York Magazine article, McFarland in other media reports — which cited advisers publicly fearing she would appear homophobic — emphasized she allegedly grew up in a physically abusive home.
”In seeking to put a painful past behind me, I wrote two candid letters to my parents in 1992 at the advice of a counselor,” McFarland said in a statement at the time. “Now, in the midst of a political campaign, those letters have found their way into the hands of a magazine reporter.”
In a subsequent interview with the New York Times, McFarland reportedly said she grew up in a home where from the age of 2 onward she was beaten and whipped with belts along with her brother. At times, McFarland reportedly said, her father would wave a gun in her face, threatening to kill the family.
After they grew up and left home, McFarland and her brother lived only a few miles apart in New York City from 1985 to 1995, but McFarland admitted she largely cut him out of her life after she learned he had HIV and refused to let her young children see him.
“I was really living a life of going to Central Park with my kids, and he was increasingly living — there was no secret about it — he was openly gay,” McFarland was quoted as saying. “I had no problem with that, I loved him. But I was increasingly concerned because he talked about a very promiscuous lifestyle. And it saddened me a great deal.”
During the interview, McFarland reportedly denied the abuse made him gay, but said it contributed to his reported “promiscuity.”
“I think the abuse absolutely affected his riskier behavior, his more promiscuous — I don’t want to use the word self-destructive — is there another word like that?” McFarland reportedly said. “I don’t think it’s something that made him gay; he was always gay. That stuff leaves emotional scars on everybody, and everybody copes with it in different ways.”
According to the New York Times, McFarland said her brother was often sick during the 1990s and she would visit him at his home or the hospital, but she didn’t have any contact with him during the last two years of his life.
“Do I wish I spent more time with him? Of course I do,” McFarland is quoted as saying. “It’s the great regret that I have of my adult life, that I didn’t spend more time with him, that I was not with him in his final months.”
McFarland’s parents reportedly denied the household was abusive. The New York Magazine profile piece quotes McFarland’s mother, Edith Troia, denying the account and accusing the publication of “casting dark shadows on this whole race.”
A New York Post reporter seeking comment went to the Madison, Wis., home of McFarland’s father, Augie Troia, who denied at the time he had abused his family. After telling the reporter “you know darn well I never did any of that” and offering to take a lie detector test to verify his story, Troia threatened him, saying “you’d better get out of here or they’re going to carry you out of here,” the Post reported.
Also at the time, McFarland’s brother, Tom Troia, of Janesville, Wis., accused McFarland of lying about family abuse in an interview with the New York Post, saying, “If I had one word to describe my sister, it would be ‘evil.’”
Asked by the New York Post why McFarland would make up charges her father abused her family, Tom Troia reportedly said, “Evil needs no reason.” Although Tom Troia acknowledged his siblings growing up were sometimes spanked — sometimes with a belt — for misbehavior, he said the punishment “was on an acceptable level of the time. McFarland never threatened the family with a gun, Tom Troia said, because there was never one in the house.
McFarland in 2006 would end up the losing the race for the Republican nomination to run for U.S. Senate in New York to John Spencer, a former mayor of Yonkers whom the state Republican Party organization endorsed. Before the primary, McFarland dropped out of the race following news that her 16-year-old daughter was charged with petty theft and possession of stolen goods after being caught shoplifting.
The Trump transition team didn’t respond to a request for comment on whether McFarland’s views of gay people have changed or whether the president-elect is OK with the way she treated her brother. McFarland also didn’t respond to a request for comment for this article.
McFarland’s relationship with her family is but one controversial aspect of Trump’s addition to his team. At the time of her Senate bid, the New York Post reported McFarland maintained two voting addresses in the period between 1996 to 2006, which could be a felony. Additionally, McFarland claimed helicopters were flying over her home taking pictures and were sent by Clinton because she was so worried about the challenge to her seat, although McFarland later said she was joking.
As a Defense Department official, McFarland also was accused of exaggerating her contribution to President Reagan’s “Star Wars” speech and her claims of being the highest-ranking woman in Reagan’s Pentagon. The latter was demonstrably not true because there were two other women with ranks higher than hers.
According to Media Matters, McFarland as a Fox News commentator made dubious claims, such as saying the Benghazi CIA compound under attack in 2012 didn’t receive additional security because Chris Stevens couldn’t contact Clinton via a State Department email address. Requests for security do “not rise to the level of the secretary of state” and it’s not unusual for ambassadors to not have the email address of a secretary of state, according to the Council for Foreign Relations.
In a discussion about the Iran nuclear deal, McFarland made a racially tinged comment, suggesting Saudi Arabia is dishonest about supporting the agreement because “they’re Arabs” and “not going to say to your face something that they know is going to upset you.”
Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans, said his organization opposes the outing of gay people, but vouched for McFarland based on the experience he’s had with her over the years.
“Log Cabin Republicans opposes outing, and always has,” Angelo said. “Beyond that, family matters should be left to families to work out. All I can say is that my interactions with KT over the years — and there have been many, from my time as chairman of Log Cabin Republicans of New York State to CPAC to today — have always shown me KT supports a big-tent approach to politics.”
As mentioned in an earlier blog, recent studies are showing that we LGBT seniors tend to be more resilient than our non-LGBT peers. In learning to live with the stress of being a stigmatized minority we have increased our capacity for handling the difficult challenges of aging. As the saying goes, our wounds have made us stronger. That resilience may also come in handy as we prepare to face the unknowns of the recent election. What are the qualities of that resilience? Here are some of my ideas:
Humor: One of the first qualities that pops up is that we have learned not only to laugh at ourselves, but we have also perfected the art of “dark humor!” We find ways to release hurt and tension, even in sad or fearful times such as during the AIDS pandemic. Humor can help us cope with the losses and uncertainty of our aging.
Self-Awareness: We tend to be introspective. While many of us as children did not have today’s diverse terminology, we knew at a very young age that we were “different” and that led us on an early path of eagerly discovering our authentic selves and finding unique ways to express our talents … a path that many non-LGBT individuals begin much later in life when traditional cultural expectations have been fulfilled.
Self-Protection: As we were learning what made us different, we also learned how to hide those differences in order to survive an intolerant, even hostile culture. In so doing, we developed a heightened awareness of our environment, an intuitive sense of others and strategies for avoiding uncomfortable or even dangerous situations. This ability to preserve our well-being may help us be pro-active and creative in exploring options when difficult aging challenges arise.
Self-Nurturing: While many of us had to overcome unhealthy behaviors that accompanied our internalized stigma, we have also learned the importance of self-care in coping with stress. Some of us find peace and fulfillment through seeking and expressing beauty while others may nurture themselves by connecting with animals and nature or by serving others or by cultivating gratitude and a positive attitude.
Interdependence: Last but not least, we have developed a “kinship” with each other within the LGBT community. We have demonstrated the power and the value of standing together. By combining our individual strengths with our compassionate caring for each other, we will meet both the challenges of our individual aging and overcome any hurdles that may await us collectively. Now that’s resilience!!!
Buz Hermes is co-facilitator of the Sonoma Valley LGBT Seniors Group and a former staff member of Spectrum’s Senior Outreach Program. He is currently a consultant on LGBT aging and can be reached at GaryDHermes@comcast.net or (707) 227-6935.
Out billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel is putting together a brain trust of Silicon Valley insiders to share ideas with the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump. But he’s having trouble finding takers.
In recent days, the Facebook board member and PayPal cofounder – who is also a member of the Trump transition – has been appealing to fellow entrepreneurs of all political stripes to share their best ideas and possibly join the incoming administration.
Thiel has been been carrying around an iPad with an editable list of possible candidates, say people familiar with Thiel’s thinking who did not want to be named because the venture capitalist has not made his effort public. Those who have been approached by Thiel have been asked to add other names to the shortlist.
Thiel, a libertarian who was shunned by his tech industry peers for being a Trump supporter, is pitching his personal network of entrepreneurs on the opportunity to influence an incoming administration that is somewhat of a blank slate when it comes to technology policy. Because Trump had so few ties to the world of tech, Thiel will have an unusually powerful influence on the new administration, the people familiar with his thinking said.
Donald Trump advisor and former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says voters should “follow President Obama’s lead” and accept President-elect Trump and his vice president-elect Mike Pence, asking Americans to “respect them and learn to work with them”. Video provided by AFP
But in the liberal bastion of Silicon Valley – where Trump is despised and even admitting you’re a Republican can hurt your candidacy for a job – that coveted opportunity has been fraught with challenges. And some people have turned him down altogether. Thiel declined to comment.
People who have joined Thiel form a tight-knit group of conservative and libertarian-leaning entrepreneurs who have long felt ostracized in Silicon Valley for their political views, a source said. Many are excited to finally have a voice in government.
Some entrepreneurs who had not been politically active said the opportunity was too good to pass up. “The chance to influence the government is a huge opportunity,” said Jack Abraham, a serial entrepreneur who is executive director of the Thiel Fellowship. “There are people who are repulsed by Trump, and it’s understandable – Silicon Valley is very liberal. But it’s unfortunate [that some people don’t want to contribute] because this is a unique opportunity for smart people to inject ideas.”
Others who spoke to The Washington Post said people Thiel approached were conflicted: Thiel is revered throughout Silicon Valley for his business acumen, even by those who disagree with his politics. In any other circumstance, being tapped by someone of his stature to have a voice at the highest levels of power would be hugely appealing.
Entrepreneurs working in emerging areas that the government has yet to fully regulate, such as the virtual currency bitcoin and drones, see the value in having a line to an administration that so far has had few ties in the tech world.
But people who have turned Thiel down felt Trump’s campaign had been too divisive and that an association with Trump could have toxic repercussions in their social and business circles, several people said.
The reaction in Silicon Valley reflects a broader dilemma for the incoming administration: Many of the best and brightest are wary of contributing to the incoming government because they fear the ramifications of having ties to Trump. These concerns have played out in recent days among Republicans who are considering whether to serve.
People on Thiel’s shortlist include Blake Masters, who co-authored, with Thiel, the book Zero to One, which is read as a business bible in Silicon Valley. Masters is also president of the Thiel Foundation, an organization dedicated to funding young people who want to skip college to pursue an entrepreneurial idea.
Other Thiel mentees have been tapped, including Joe Lonsdale and Abraham. Like Masters, Lonsdale met Thiel while he was a libertarian-leaning Stanford student, and co-founded the data-mining startup Palantir Technologies with Thiel. Jack Abraham is executive director of the Thiel Foundation, and Thiel sits on the board of his startup, Zenreach.
Balaji Srinivasan, whose startup focusing on the virtual currency bitcoin received funding from Thiel, shares some of his anti-authoritarian ideals. Thiel has advocated for technologists to live in offshore ships that would function as mini-nations to escape regulation; Srinivasan once advocated for technologists to exit the United States and form a separate society that would govern itself.
Masters and Srinivasan did not respond to requests for comment. Lonsdale declined to comment.
Max Levchin, another PayPal cofounder who is an outspoken critic of Trump, has contributed ideas and suggested others for the shortlist, but does not want to join the administration, a source close to Levchin said. Levchin is on the advisory board at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog agency created the Obama administration to police financial institutions. Levchin declined to comment.
In speeches leading up to the election, Thiel has pushed for a government agenda that includes greater investments in science and technology. He gave a $1.25 million donation to political groups supporting Trump.
Thiel is also a backer of many companies that have pending business with Washington. He’s funded the ride-sharing company Lyft and home-sharing company Airbnb, which have been in the crosshairs with regulators and unions. He also has backed a marijuana business and a drone maker, areas that federal regulators are scrutinizing.
The people close to Thiel said he had also told Trump’s team about the the challenges startups had in doing business with the federal government. The issue is close to Thiel: Palantir, which Thiel co-founded, recently won a legal case against the Department of Defense, in which the company claimed that it was sidelined from competing for government contracts.
NASTAD (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors), has announced the launch of a new online training platform, HisHealth.org, to help doctors, nurses, and medical professionals unlearn racial biases that create barriers to good care and elevate the quality of healthcare for black gay men and black men who have sex with men.
The barriers for black gay men in search of medical care are high. Even though most medical providers want to give good care, only 1 in 3 doctors know what PrEP is — a groundbreaking HIV prevention medication; many doctors aren’t versed in providing quality care for LGBTQ people; and research indicates implicit bias has lead to subpar care for Black Americans. “His Health” gives accredited in-depth training for medical professionals alongside stories of the best care programs in the country.
“Finding a good doctor as a black gay man with HIV is incredibly difficult,” said Terrance Moore, Deputy Executive Director at NASTAD. “Research shows that implicit bias stops many doctors from providing high-quality care to black Americans. Add to that a lack of understanding about the sexual health care needs of LGBT patients — and many men I know would rather stay home. That’s why this new tool is so important — we can help doctors fight implicit bias and provide better care.”
Provides accredited and expert-led continuing education courses that count towards the credits medical professionals already need to maintain their medical licensure;
Offers portraits of innovative models of care including Project Silk, a CDC funded, Pittsburgh -based recreational safe space and sexual health center rooted in house ball culture and Connecting Resources for Urban Sexual Health, a sexual health clinic created by and for LGBTQ youth of color; and
Gives easy access to evidence-based resources to support the delivery of high quality, culturally affirming healthcare services for Black men who have sex with men.
“There is a lot of discussion right now about implicit bias and police brutality in the U.S. — but the truth is, this is a huge challenge for health care providers as well,” said Omoro Omoighe, Associate Director of Health Equity and Health Care Access at NASTAD. “We know doctors and nurses desperately wish to offer culturally affirming healthcare that is stigma free to Black LGBT patients. With the advent of His Health, they now have the tools necessary to tackle implicit bias and feel more confident in their ability to uplift the standard of care for black gay men while maintaining their licensure to practice medicine.”
The His Health platform was developed for and by Black same gender loving men and their healthcare providers in partnership with NASTAD and the Health Resources Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau (HRSA/HAB) in response to the high HIV rates amongst black men who have sex with men.
Three couples have asked an appeals court to revive their challenge to a North Carolina law allowing magistrates with religious objections to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.
The appeal filed Monday with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond says a federal district court erred by dismissing their challenge in September. The lower court ruled at the time that the two gay couples and an interracial couple lacked standing to sue over the law that took effect in 2015.
The couples argue that they have standing as taxpayers to challenge a law that requires spending of public money to accommodate magistrates’ religious views. They say the law authorizes a magistrate to travel between jurisdictions to perform marriages — at taxpayer expense — if counterparts in another area all recuse themselves.
“It is the spending of tax dollars to elevate religion above the constitution, solely authorized by and occurring because of a legislative act, that gives Plaintiffs-Appellants standing to challenge” the law as unconstitutional, the lawsuit states.
Two of the plaintiffs are from McDowell County, where all magistrates recused themselves from performing marriages after the law was enacted.
Statewide, only a fraction of North Carolina’s magistrates have filed recusal notices. The notices prevent them from officiating at all marriages — gay and heterosexual — for at least six months.
The law also allows some court clerks to decline to issue marriage licenses because of “any sincerely held religious objection.”
When the law was enacted in June 2015, only Utah had a similar religious-recusal law.
North Carolina’s Republican Gov. Pat McCrory vetoed the measure before the General Assembly voted to override him. The governor said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, but government employees who take an oath to do a job shouldn’t be allowed to break those oaths
Backers of the law have said it protects the religious freedoms of government employees, who should be accommodated if marrying same-sex couples runs counter to their beliefs.
City police are investigating some type of an explosion in Center City that left a man injured on Tuesday morning.
Police confirm they were investigating a suspicious package on Pine Street when the explosion occurred, reports CBS Philadelphia.
Philly police officials tell CBS News the explosion was caused by some kind of device that the victim activated, and it came in a manila envelope.
Police are talking to the victim and his partner and looking at everything, including the possibility of this being a hate crime. Officials tell CBS News they do not believe this is related to terrorism.
“Preliminary information is that there was a package they believed to have contained some sort of medication. Now, it did explode, but at this time they don’t know whether or not this was an intentional explosion,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. “We don’t know whether this was a bomb mailed to the house in order to explode and do injuries, or whether this was just some sort of freak accident where something like an inhaler just exploded.”
Small said the explosion occurred inside the kitchen where a 62-year-old man lives.
“There’s some broken glass, there’s some damage to the range where you would cook, there’s some blood, but there’s not a lot of structural damage at all inside the property,” Small said.
The victim was transported to Jefferson Hospital. His condition is still unknown at this time.
The Philadelphia Police, Bomb Squad, the ATF and other agencies continue to investigate this incident, however there’s no threat to the surrounding area.
“All of the other mailed packages that we initially thought were suspicious have been cleared,” Small said. “There no thereat now of anything else exploding.”
The victim does receive medication through the mail regularly.
Investigators say, while it’s rare, inhalers have been known to accidentally explode.
A 36-year-old roommate does live with the victim. Police say he’s being questioned at this time.
First responders at the scene of an explosion in downtown Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 22, 2016.
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 self-identified 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 anti-transgender 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.
J.W. da Silva (24 years old)
Cause of death: stoned to death.
Location of death: Paudalho, Brazil
Date of death: October 27th, 2016 source
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Julia Sofia (20 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death.
Location of death: Nazaré, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: October 21st, 2016 source
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Yasmin Montoy (20 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death, blunt force trauma to the head.
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: October 16th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: suffucation
Location of death: Sorocaba, Brazil
Date of death: October 13th, 2016 source
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W. R. Alexandre
Cause of death: beaten to death.
Location of death: Baixada Fluminense, Brazil
Date of death: October 8th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2016 source
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Rafael Silva (17 year old)
Cause of death: 17 gunshots, ran over by car.
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2016 source
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Chaiene da Silva
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Paudalho, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: September 24th, 2016 source
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Larissa (31 years old)
Cause of death: shot in abdomen, thrown from car
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: September 16th, 2016 source
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H.J. Silva (37 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma
Location of death: Sítio do Quinto, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: September 11th, 2016 source
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Pâmela Pereira (16 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Conceição do Jacuípe, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman (24 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot and stab wounds
Location of death: Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2016 source
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Taina W.P. Alencar (22 years old)
Cause of death: stab wound
Location of death: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: September 4th, 2016 source
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Hilda A.J. da Silva (46 years old)
Cause of death: strangled with an electrical cord
Location of death: Aliança, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: September 4th, 2016 source
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Bruniele
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: August 29th, 2016 source
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Erika W.P. de Arruda (30 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to neck and groin
Location of death: Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: August 25th, 2016 source
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Brenda
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Castanhal, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: August 19th, 2016 source
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Tiffany Rodrigues (23 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: August 8th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016 source
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Thiemy Oliveira (24 years old)
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016 source
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Adriane Bonek (43 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: São Pedro da Aldeia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Sabrina E.S. Sales (25 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: July 25th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: July 13th, 2016 source
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Edymara M. Leão (36 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Lago Norte, Brazil
Date of death: July 11th, 2016 source
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Nickolle Rocha (19 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: July 11th, 2016 source
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Pandora Pereira (26 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: July 3rd, 2016 source
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Daiane Brasil (36 years old)
Cause of death: gunshots to the neck, chest, and face.
Location of death: Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: June 27th, 2016 source
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Julia Almeida (28 years old)
Cause of death: strangled, thrown in sugar cane field.
Location of death: Ituverava, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 25th, 2016 source
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Danielly Barby (24 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot to the neck
Location of death: Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 25th, 2016 source
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Sheila Santos
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Calabar, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: June 24th, 2016 source
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Lorran Lorang (19 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: June 22nd, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: beaten to death with a wooden club
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: June 18th, 2016 source
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Gabriel Figueira de Lima (21 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed in the neck
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: June 16th, 2016 source
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Paula
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Goiandira, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: June 16th, 2016 source
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Lauandersa
Cause of death: stabbed over 30 times
Location of death: Genipabu, Caucaia, Brazil
Date of death: May 16th, 2016 source
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Ana Hickmann (30 years old)
Cause of death: 2 gunshots in the neck
Location of death: Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Date of death: May 15th, 2016 source
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Michele de Souza (22 years old)
Cause of death: 7 gunshots to the chest, abdomen, legs and arms.
Location of death: São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: May 11th, 2016 source
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Leticia Silva (22 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Belém, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: May 5th, 2016 source
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Alana da Silva Pessoa (22 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wound.
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: May 4th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Jéssica L.C. Menezes (24 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: April 16th, 2016 source
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Luana Biersack (14 years old)
Cause of death: sexually assaulted, beaten, and drowned..
Location of death: Novo Itacolomi, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: April 13th, 2016 source
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Amanda Araujo (17 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Date of death: April 11th, 2016 source
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Bianca Abravanel (25 years old)
Cause of death: 15 gunshot wounds to the chest and face.
Location of death:Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: April 11th, 2016 source
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Andinho
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: March 29th, 2016 source
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Gabriela Rodrigues
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Aparecida de Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: March 28th, 2016 source
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Keyti (42 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death.
Location of death: Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Date of death: March 27th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————
D.S. Barros (21 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds over entire body Location of death: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: March 23th, 2016 source
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M. Moreira (16 years old)
Cause of death: head trauma
Location of death: Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: March 20th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Camilla Rios (32 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds over entire body
Location of death: Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: March 14th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: unknown, dismembered
Location of death: Brazil
Date of death: March 10th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Mika P. Da Silva
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to the head and groin
Location of death:Macau, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Date of death: March 7th, 2016 source
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María la del Barrio
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Manaus, Brazil
Date of death: March 6th, 2016 source
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V.
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds to the neck
Location of death: João Pessoa, Brazil
Date of death: March 7th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Gravatai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 27th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Natascha (37 years old)
Cause of death: set on fire.
Location of death: Tarumã, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 24th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
unidentified woman
Cause of death: strangled, partially burned
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
unidentified woman
Cause of death: strangled, partially burned
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
unidentified woman
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Carapicuiba, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 12th, 2016 source
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Malu (30 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Maracanaú, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: March 11th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Fabiane Hilario (20 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot at point blank range to the head.
Location of death: Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: January 27th, 2016 source
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Dani (20 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot to the chest
Location of death: São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: January 24th, 2016 source
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Bruna Souza (23 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: January 23rd, 2016 source
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Ketelen Alves (23 years old)
Cause of death: gunshots
Location of death: Manaus, Brazil
Date of death: Jaunuay 23rd, 2016 source
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Giovana Atanazio (20 years old)
Cause of death: Thrown from a bridge, drowned
Location of death: São José dos Campos, Brazil
Date of death: January 17th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: multiple gunshots
Location of death: Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: January 4th, 2016 source
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Italy
Thiago Fernando Batista (30 years old)
Cause of death: unknown, body thrown in dumpster.
Location of death: Rome, Italy
Date of death: July 29th, 2016 source
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Mexico
Paulett Gonzalez (24 years old)
Cause of death: murdered, burned beyond recognition.
Location of death: Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
Date of death: June 2016 source
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Pakistan
Alisha (23 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Parda Bagh, Faqirbabad, Pakistan
Date of death: May 25th, 2016 source
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Russia
Raina Aliev (25 years old)
Cause of death: dismembered
Location of death: Dagestan
Date of death: October 2016 source
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Spain
Lorena Reyes (32 years old)
Cause of death: fall, after being stabbed
Location of death: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Date of death: October 24th, 2016 source
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Thailand
Amphon Kongsong (28 years old)
Cause of death: strangled, body stuffed in bed frame.
Location of death: Pattaya, Thailand
Date of death: August 20th, 2016 source
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Turkey
Hande Kader (24 years old)
Cause of death: murdered, burned beyond recognition.
Location of death: Istanbul, Turkey
Date of death: August 2016 source
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USA
Monica Loera (43 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Austin, Texas, USA
Date of death: January 22nd, 2016 source
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Jasmine Sierra (52 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Bakersfield, California, USA
Date of death: January 22nd, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Maya Young (25 years old)
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Date of death: February 20th, 2016 source
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Kendarie/Kandicee Johnson (16 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot
Location of death: Burlington, Iowa
Date of death: March 2nd, 2016 source
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Keyonna Blakeney (22 years old)
Cause of death: upper body trauma
Location of death: Rockville, Maryland, USA
Date of death: May 1st, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Tyreece “Reecey” Walker (32 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Wichita, Kansas, USA
Date of death: May 1st, 2016 source
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Mercedes Successful (32 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Haines City, Florida, USA
Date of death: May 15th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Amos Beede (38 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Burlington, Vermont
Date of death: May 22nd, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Devin Diamond (22 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma, set on fire
Location of death: New Orleans, Louisiana
Date of death: June 5th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Deeniquia Dodds (22 years old)
Cause of death: shot
Location of death: Washington D.C., USA
Date of death: July 4th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Dee Whigham (36 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: St. Martin, Mississippi, USA
Date of death: July 23rd, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Erykah Tijerina (36 years old)Cause of death: Stabbed 24 times
Location of death: El Paso, Texas, USA
Date of death: August 8th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Rae’lynn Thomas (28 years old)
Cause of death: Shot at point blank range
Location of death: Columbus, Ohio, USA
Date of death: August 10th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
TT Saffore (26 years old)
Cause of death: Throat cut
Location of death: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of death: September 11th, 2016 source
——————————————————————————-
Crystal Edmonds (32 years old)
Cause of death: Shot in back of head
Location of death: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Date of death: March September 16th, 2015 source
A Rapid Response Fund to support HIV services at risk as a result of human rights violations has been launched by the International HIV AIDS Alliance.
Cause of death: Stabbed 24 times
