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Deadly Attack on Missouri Transgender Woman Demands Action by State Leaders

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After the violent death of a transgender woman in southern Missouri, NCTE called on the state to protect transgender people from violence and discrimination.

Nina Pop, 28, was found Sunday night inside her apartment in Sikeston, MO, a town about 145 miles south of St. Louis, according to KCTV5 News and the Associated Press. She had been stabbed several times.

No motive has been announced, but police are investigating the possibility that the fatal attack was a hate crime. 

“Transgender people – and particularly transgender women of color – are facing a wave of violence. Police and other government officials must do more to keep transgender people safe, to thoroughly investigate crimes against out community and to stop enacting laws that enable transgender people to be targeted,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of NCTE.

Pop’s death is the most recent in a string of deadly attacks targeting transgender people in the United States this year. 

Transgender people face extraordinary levels of physical and sexual violence, whether on the streets, at school or work, at home, or at the hands of government officials. Missouri is on a sad list of states that continue to continue to propose bills that target transgender people.

More than one in four transgender people has faced a bias-driven assault, and rates are higher for transgender women and transgender people of color.

NCTE is working with anti-violence groups, women’s rights groups, racial justice groups, and federal and state law enforcement agencies to combat anti-transgender violence.

Public education, policy change and community efforts are needed to address the complex causes of anti-transgender violence and ensure victims can receive support.

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