What is Transgender Awareness Week?
Transgender Awareness Week is when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community. This leads to Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), which is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence that year.
What is Transgender Day of Remembrance?
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was founded by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor her memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence that year and began an important memorial that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Participate in TDOR by attending or organizing a vigil on November 20 to honor all those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence that year. Vigils are typically hosted by local transgender advocates or LGBTQ organizations, and held at community centers, parks, places of worship and other venues. The vigil often involves reading a list of the names of those who died that year.
For more information on Transgender Awareness Week please visit the below websites:
https://www.glaad.org/transweek
https://genderedintelligence.co.uk/services/publicengagement/awarenessdays/trans-awareness-week.html
https://lgbt.foundation/news/from-trans-awareness-to-trans-acceptance/242