Trans Remembrance Day 2021: The events happening in and around Manchester

Trans Awareness Week is November 13-19 every year. This a week in which organisations and people around the world participate to raise visibility for transgender people and address the issues the community faces.

Trans Remembrance comes at the end of Trans Awareness and is November 20. It is a day in which vigils and other events are held to honour and give visibility to members of the trans community who have died.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) describes this day as: “an annual observance on November 20 that honours the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.”

Transgender Day of Remembrance was first started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honour the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.

The Trans Community is still one of the most vulnerable communities, experiencing prejudice, violence and negligence by governing bodies and people around the world.

In fact, 2021 has been the worst year on record since authorities began reporting statistics for trans and gender-diverse violence. 357 lives have been lost in anti-trans killings worldwide.

A group will be meeting for a peaceful protest on November 21 at Sackville Gardens in Manchester at 4pm.

There will be speakers from across the community, live music and messages from allies. The event is expected to last till 7pm.

We Are Explorers will be working in collaboration with St Mary the Virgin Church, and are inviting people to join in the youth-led memorial service beginning at 1pm.

The service will begin with refreshments and you will be invited to contribute a leaf to their memory tree. There will be a one-hour service including talks, poetry and music. Event organisers are asking attendees to please wear a face mask.