On November 20, the world community celebrates the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR). This day was established in 1999 in memory of Rita Hester, a trans woman brutally murdered in the USA, and has become an annual reminder of the need to combat transphobia and violence against trans people.
Unfortunately, Transgender Day of Remembrance is an occasion not only to honor the memory of the victims, but also to highlight that the problem is still relevant today — from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, 320 murders of trans and gender-diverse people were registered worldwide.
ECOM continues to actively support the trans community in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. An important part of our work is collecting information on cases of rights violations of trans people. We use this data in national and international advocacy activities. From 2022 to 2024, ECOM recorded and entered 161 cases of trans people's rights violations into the ReACT system.
For example, in Kazakhstan, a trans woman engaged in sex work was subjected to violence by clients and police officers. After the provision of intimate services, three men who introduced themselves as police officers broke into her apartment. They began to insult and humiliate the girl, calling her a "mistake of nature" and demanding information about other sex workers. When the girl refused, they hit her several times in the face and stomach, after which they forced her to have oral sex. As a result of this incident, the girl was forced to leave her place of residence and move to another city. Every year, ECOM records dozens of such cases, and, unfortunately, we realize that this is only a small part of them — the vast majority of victims do not seek help and hide such incidents due to fear of further persecution.
“We are concerned that transgender people in Kazakhstan, as well as throughout the region, face serious safety challenges, including hate-motivated violence, discrimination and harassment from both ordinary people and the authorities. Biased attitudes and violence from the police remain one of the biggest problems in Kazakhstan. There are frequent reports of cases where trans people are humiliated or denied protection, which is why many are afraid to seek help, fearing further violence. Another serious obstacle is the lack of simple procedures for legal gender recognition without the need to undergo mandatory surgical correction, which makes trans people more vulnerable and increases their isolation in the legal field,” notes Victoria Primak, member of ECOM's Trans* People Working Group, Advocacy Coordinator at ALMA-TQ.
In response to these challenges, ECOM continues to initiate projects aimed at improving the quality of life for trans people. A key achievement was the establishment of the Trans People Working Group on HIV and Sexual Health in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (TWG) in May 2019. This is a unique regional initiative, all members and experts of which are trans people. The mission of the group is to increase the visibility of the trans community, to address their needs in the context of HIV prevention and trans health, and to ensure access to trans competent and trans sensitive public health services.
In addition, in 2024, ECOM, in partnership with "Aidsfonds" (Netherlands) and the ICF "Alliance for Public Health" (Ukraine), supported 15 projects aimed at supporting key populations in migration, covering 9 countries of the EECA region. Trans people became the ultimate beneficiaries of five of the supported projects, gaining access to qualified psychological, medical, legal and social support.
“We, as the LGBTQ+ community, play an important role in supporting trans people, and this can be done, for example, by organizing events and campaigns that talk about the problems trans people face and make their stories more visible. It's also important to continue to fight for our rights, speaking out against discriminatory laws and demanding protection and equality from the authorities. Within the community, we can offer psychological and emotional support, hold meetings and online events where trans people can openly share their experiences and feel heard and supported,” adds Victoria.
ECOM calls on the public, media and government agencies to pay attention to the problems faced by the trans community not only on Transgender Day of Remembrance, but every day.
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