Transgender Day of Remembrance

By Laura Hughes (Clinical Manager)

Today (20^th November) marks Transgender Day of Remembrance. This day has been observed annually since 1999, in memory of all trans people who have died as a result of transphobia. Harmless and The Tomorrow Project provide life-saving self harm, suicide crisis and suicide bereavement support, so today we are particularly remembering all trans people who have died by suicide.

Suicide prevention for the trans community must be a priority for all those working in the mental health sector. Trans people are at significantly higher risk of suicide than cisgender counterparts, due to trans people’s persistent experiences of discrimination, isolation, stigma and lack of access to appropriate gender-affirming healthcare.

Losing a trans person to suicide has huge ripple effects across communities. There are often additional, nuanced difficulties that come with trans and non-binary bereavements by suicide, including further stigma, the potential of deadnames being used for funerals or memorials, the politicisation of someone’s death, and fear of discrimination within support services. Every death by suicide is devastating and has a ripple effect that touches around 135 people per death, but deaths by suicide within the LGBTQIA+ community have an additional ripple effect that touches all who share or can relate to that person’s Queer identity, even if they have never met that person.

Compassionate, affirming and inclusive postvention support is vital to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community following the death of a trans person by suicide. And alongside this, we need responsive, trans-inclusive, gender-affirming suicide crisis support for trans people to safely access life-saving support in the first place.

To trans and non-binary people struggling, please know that Harmless and The Tomorrow Project’s suicide prevention and suicide bereavement services are here for you.

Every day, but particularly on 20^th November, we join you in remembrance of all trans people we have lost to suicide, to support all those left behind in their grief, and to fight for a better and safer world where no trans person loses their life to suicide.


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If you or anyone you know needs support, you can make a referral to Harmless or The Tomorrow Project via the button below.