Say Their Names: The trans and gender diverse people whose murders were reported in Europe and Central Asia last year

The murders of 375 trans and gender-diverse people were reported between October 2020 and September 2021, according to the latest Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) update, and 2021 is set to be the deadliest year for trans communities since TGEU began collecting data. We say the names of those whose lives were cut short in our region, with a view towards a world where all trans people can live in equality, freedom and peace.

Violence against trans people is a continually growing issue that’s reaching record levels. This year, TGEU has accounted the highest number of trans and gender-diverse people whose lives have been cut short since the organisation began to collect data in 2008. The murders of 375 trans and gender-diverse people have been reported in the past 12 months, 7% more than in 2020, which was already a 6% increase from the previous update.

14 of the murders took place in Europe and one in Kazakhstan. 43% of the trans people killed in the region were migrants. Worldwide, Brazil remains the deadliest country of all. Other global facts include:

• 96% of those murdered globally were trans women or transfeminine people
• 58% of murdered trans people whose occupation is known were sex workers
• 36% of the murders took place on the street and 24% in their own place of residence
• The average age of those murdered is 30 years old; the youngest being 13 years old and the oldest 68 years old

These numbers are just a glimpse into the actual scenario, as most cases are not reported and those which are recorded receive little attention. TGEU warns of a “worrying trend when it comes to the intersections of misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and hate towards sex workers, with the majority of victims being Black and migrant trans women of colour, and trans sex workers”.

Say their names

Trans Day of Remembrance is marked each November 20 to commemorate trans people whose lives were lost as a result of anti-trans violence. It is important not to forget that behind the numbers there were actual individuals who had families, friends, a history and a future. To honour their memories, TGEU has also collected their names and how they died. Here you will find a list of those whose lives were brutally and needlessly cut short in Europe and Central Asia after transphobic attacks.

• Nuray Nuriyev, 27 years old. Baku, Azerbaijan
• Paula Migeon, 50 years old. Reims, France
• Ambre Audrey Istier, 50 years old. Isère, France
• Ivanna Angeline Macedo, 28 years old. Paris, France
• Dimitra Kalogiannis, 64 years old. Athens, Greece
• N.N., 30 years old. Piacenza, Italy
• Adrieli. Rome, Italy
• Dzhakonda. Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
• Angelita Seixas Alves Correia, 31 years old. Matosinhos, Portugal.
• Viktoria (Vika) Basakovskaya, 23 years old. Novosibirsk region, Russia
• Iratxe Otero, 29 years old. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
• Selin Aynaci, 42 years old, Antalya, Turkey.
• Mira? Güne?, 36 years old. Izmir, Turkey
• Pamela ‘Pam’. Turkey
• Kadir Murat Sözübir, 42 years old. Fatih, Turkey

These names, these lives and those of the 360 other trans and gender-diverse people whose murders were reported, and all of those who have gone un-reported, are a stark reminder of why continually mounting violence against trans people needs to be condemned by policymakers, civil society, and society at large in the strongest possible terms. We join in mourning the lives lost and commit to continuing to fight for the world we want to see, where all trans and gender-diverse people live full and equal lives in freedom and in peace.