More Than 300 Trans People Killed in 2023

A total of 320 trans and gender-diverse people were reported murdered between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023, according to the annual update of the Trans Murder Monitoring research project, published Monday. While this figure is disturbingly high, in reality it is likely even higher, since these numbers are just the cases reported in countries with strong networks of trans and LGBTIQ organizations and so many instances likely go unreported.

As the following chart shows, Brazil has again reported by far the highest number of cases for a single country globally, counting 100 deaths in one year alone, or nearly a third (31 percent) of the world’s total. Mexico and the United States recorded the next highest numbers, at 52 and 31, respectively.

With a total of 235 deaths, Latin America and the Caribbean remained the region with the highest number of reported murders in 2023. Worryingly, Armenia, Belgium and Slovakia reported cases for the first time.

According to Transrespect versus Transphobia, 94 percent of those killed worldwide were trans women or trans feminine people and almost half (48 percent) of the victims were sex workers. In Europe, 45 percent of the trans people reported murdered whose migration background is known were migrants or refugees.

November 13-19 is Transgender Awareness Week. As with every year, it will end on November 20 with Trans Day of Remembrance, a day of commemoration of victims of transphobic violence.