Deputy Mayor Humayun Kabir and Croydon’s LGBTQ+ community Pic: Lisa Henderson
The LGBTQ+ community praised Croydon Council for their support during a ceremony for Transgender Day of Remembrance at Town Hall.
Humayun Kabir, the Deputy Mayor of Croydon, raised the transgender flag outside the Town Hall this morning to boost awareness of hate crimes against trans people and remember those from the community who had been murdered.
Paula Goodwin, member of the trans community and chairperson of Croydon Pride, said: “It’s incredibly important for our community to have the council’s support in this tangible, physical way. Every trans person, whether they’re out, part-time, male or female, will see that flag and their heart will lift and they’ll know they’re supported.”
A number of councillors joined Kabir, in showing their support for the trans community. Councillor Kabir said: “On behalf of the council I was delighted to come and raise the flag today to remember the victims of transgender communities who are victimised all over the world. There should not be any more hate crimes, everyone has their right to live how they want to live. Today we are showing support to the victims and support and their families.”
This is the first year Croydon have marked Transgender Day of Remembrance with a ceremony, though the flag has been raised for Trans Day of Awareness.
Croydon was once criticized for its marginalised gay community , but since electing its first openly gay mayor, Wayne Trakas-Lawlor, in 2016, the borough has seen many changes.
In the same year Trakas-Lawlor was elected, Croydon held its own Pride event for the first in some 20 years. More recently, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has revealed that transphobic crimes in Croydon are down by 55% since last year.
Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20 was established in 1999 in the United States to commemorate those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia.
Transgender Flag flown outside Croydon Town Hall Pic: Lisa Henderson
This year, Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide published an update on the Trans Murder Monitoring research project, which revealed a total of 369 cases of reported killings of trans and gender-diverse people in the year ending September 30, 2018. This constitutes an increase of 44 cases compared to last year’s update and 74 cases compared to 2016.
Last Saturday, TransPALS and Croydon Pride held a vigil in Town Hall to remember the 368 victims from the Trans community worldwide.
The only recorded British transgender murder victim was Naomi Hersi, a 36-year-old who was stabbed to death at a hotel near Heathrow Airport in March. A man was jailed for her death earlier this month.
