Monitoring transphobic incidents September 2014 TGEU Monitoring transphobic incidents Imprint Author: Boglarka Fedorko Design & Layout: benswerk.wordpress.com Editing: Daniel Moure September 2014 Table of Contents The present document has been created with the greatest care, 4 Introduction but it does not and cannot claim to be complete. Please send feedback and suggestions for amendments to Boglarka Fedorko, 6 Violent incidents against the transgender community at [email protected] or [email protected]. 6 Domestic violence 6 Violence and harassment in public While the guidelines aim to provide information on the online monitoring system 8 Impunity and state-sponsored violence developed by TGEU, HURIDOCS and partners, it is strongly recommended that you seek advice from TGEU before starting to use it. 11 The ProTrans project Contact TGEU at [email protected] or [email protected]. 12 The monitoring tool The booklet was published with support from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. 14 Basic principles of documenting transphobic incidents The development of the online monitoring system was funded 16 Recording an incident in the online system by a grant from the United States Department of State. The publication’s findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author 34 Glossary of terms and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State or the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. Copyleft: You are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the work) and to remix— that is to adapt— work, as long as you attribute the work in the manner specified by the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work) and do not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. 2 3 TGEU Monitoring transphobic incidents Introduction ince 2008, Transgender Europe search in the 12 months prior to the sur- The present booklet aims to provide an in- S(TGEU) has been a pioneer in re- vey. Every fifth transgender person also troduction to the topic of monitoring dis- search on trans people’s experience of reported discrimination in healthcare set- crimination, hate speech and hate crimes violence and crime: its Trans Murder Mon- tings, which rate is twice as high as among by defining the most common terms and itoring (TMM) Project has documented those who don’t identify as transgender. present guidelines on how to use the on- 1,518 cases of murdered trans persons line monitoring tool developed by TGEU in five years (89 in Europe).1 In 2012, the The FRA concludes that the most fre- in partnership with its LGBT and trans EU Fundamental Rights Agency’s (FRA) quent reasons for not reporting were a be- partner organisations. We acknowledge LGBT survey2 also identified transgender lief that “nothing would change”, a lack of that setting up a monitoring scheme and persons as particularly vulnerable to hate knowledge about how or where to report accompanying victim support services is crimes and unlikely to report them. One an incident and fear of homophobic or an enormous task that requires careful of the most shocking results is that 35 per transphobic reactions from the police. In resource planning and expertise. Howev- cent of the respondents had been attacked line with the FRA’s recommendations on er, we still attempt to highlight some key or threatened with violence in the five focusing on improving the reporting rates issues and showcase one hopefully use- years before the survey was carried out. of hate crimes and improving systematic ful tool for those groups and civil-society recording, TGEU has gradually been plac- organisations that want to improve their The results also shed light on the extent ing more emphasis on monitoring and re- monitoring and reporting activities and to which trans people face bias-motivat- porting transphobic incidents in the form engage in comparative data collection at ed discrimination in different areas of of discrimination, hate speech and hate the European level. life, including employment, education, crimes. By working together with LGBT healthcare, housing and other services. and trans groups and NGOs within the Transgender respondents, as well as les- framework of the ProTrans project (see bian and bisexual women, were more more in The ProTrans project section), we likely than gay and bisexual men to have wish to provide systematic and credible been discriminated against on the basis of data needed to improve public policies to their gender in the 12 months preceding prevent and tackle discrimination and vio- the survey. Furthermore, almost a third lence against trans people. of responding trans persons felt discrim- inated against in their employment or job 1) For more information on the project, see http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/en_US/tvt-project/tmm-results.htm 2) https://fra.europa.eu/en/survey/2012/eu-lgbt-survey 4 5 TGEU Monitoring transphobic incidents Violent incidents against the transgender community n this section, we highlight some as- coming out, as the causes for the domes- within this category. Many documented There is little appropriate reporting about Ipects of violence that particularly affect tic violence would become public”,4 with cases, which reveal the high rate of vio- violence against transgender persons, as transgender people, drawing from TGEU all the adverse consequences that this sit- lence against transgender persons, have has been described by researchers in the data and other evidence from civil society. uation would entail. Moreover, the ongo- been reported by human-rights activists. Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide ing strain on an often isolated individual Perpetrators of violence against trans- report, published by TGEU.8“Apart from Domestic violence without access to transgender peers or gender persons are clients (in the case the lack of information and the inappro- Transgender people live in a societal cli- suitable support often results in serious of trans sex workers), gangs, police and priate and obfuscating reporting by the mate that marginalises gender variance mental-health issues for trans individuals other individuals. The statistics of TGEU’s media, hesitant prosecution of the perpe- and allows crime and violence against and their communities. Trans Murder Monitoring Project show trators and especially lack of evaluation transgender persons to flourish. For an alarming trend, illustrated, for exam- of the perpetrators’ motives by the police many, rejection, bullying and violence Violence and ple, by the increasing number of reported and courts often pose a challenge for the start in the family of origin. The contin- harassment in public murders in Turkey in recent years (2008: TMM, which relies on media reports and uously felt threat of violence negatively Many trans people continue to find them- 4, 2009: 7, 2010: 6, 2011: 6, 2012: 7). In court decisions”. Because many acts of vi- affects transgender individuals’ ability selves exposed to verbal and physical as- Europe, further reports were received of olence and murders against trans persons to pursue their personal development sault in public. In its Transgender EuroStudy a total of 89 murdered trans people in five go unnoticed, they remain unpunished. and fulfillment. In one case, the father of (2008),5 TGEU found that 79 per cent of years.7 The research into these cases sug- a young trans woman chained her and respondents had experienced some form gests that trans murder victims in Europe locked her up in a cellar for eight months, of harassment in public, ranging from are frequently migrants or sex workers, beating her daily with a rubber pipe and transphobic comments to physical or sex- and often both. suppressing any social contact. In the ual abuse. This number was confirmed by end, he forced her into a marriage. “When the Transphobic Hate Crime in the European Un- I had to go to the toilet, he put a rope ion report published by Press for Change 3) Forced Out: LGBT People in Azerbaijan – Report ILGA-Europe/COC. Fact-finding mission – 2008, p. 23. around my neck and then controlled me in 2009.6 The OSCE (Organization for 4) Identifying the Difficulties Experienced by Muslim Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Women in Accessing Social and Legal Services – Initial Findings – January 2003 – The Safra Project – from a distance. He did the same when I Security and Co-operation in Europe) Paragraph 5.4. took a shower.... After eight months, he confirmed that homophobic hate crimes 5) The entire study can be read at http://tgeu.org/Eurostudy forced me to marry someone, not legal- and incidents often show a high degree of 6) The entire study can be read at ly, but more as a religious ceremony.... cruelty and brutality. They often involve http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/r/6/transphobic_hate_crime_in_eu.pdf My patience ran out and I attempted to severe beatings, torture, mutilation, cas- 7) More results from the project are available at http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/en_US/tvt-project/tmm-results.htm commit suicide”.3 It is often not possible tration, even sexual assault. They are also 8) The publication is available at to turn to others for help, as “disclosing very likely to result in death. Transgender http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/uploads/downloads/Publications/ domestic violence would often result in people seem to be even more vulnerable TvT_research-report.pdf 6 7 TGEU Monitoring transphobic incidents Impunity and secute trans people on the grounds of their state-sponsored violence gender identity or gender expression. In cases of violence, transgender persons’ access to justice mechanisms is limited As a trans-rights activist from Turkey re- for two reasons.