WASHINGTON, DC – The Biden-Harris administration today announced an initiative to fight violence against transgender people, advance inclusion and increase opportunity for transgender people.
The Biden administration is launching an inter-agency working group to help drive the federal response to the crisis of violence, discrimination and stigma that transgender people, particularly Black and Latina transgender women, face. At least 46 transgender people died from violence in 2020, setting a record for fatalities.
“Transgender people, and particularly Black and Latina transgender women, face discrimination, harassment and, too often, violence as they go about their day-to-day lives. They are stigmatized, marginalized and criminalized in our country,” said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, deputy executive director for the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Ending this violence and protecting trans lives requires a system-wide approach that takes on the interlocking forces of racism and transphobia. President Biden’s initiative is a major step forward in the systemic reform that’s necessary for transgender Americans to live openly and safely.”
According to NCTE’s US Trans Survey, nearly one in 10 (9%) respondents were physically attacked because of being transgender and more than half (54%) experienced some form of intimate partner violence, including acts involving coercive control and physical harm.
“President Biden is honoring his commitments to transgender Americans to breakdown the real barriers to living freely and safely as a transgender person in the United States,” Heng-Lehtinen said. “With today’s announcements, the federal government is taking significant steps to support and protect trans lives.”
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