Trans deaths in the U.S. are alarmingly increasing, as revealed by a new report released by the National Center for Transgender Equality.
NTCE's annual remembrance report revealed that transgender death reports increased since 2022; 53 were killed while 32 of them commit suicide across the United States.
However, numerous experts said that this number could be higher since it is difficult to attain accurate reporting and data within the LGBTQ+ community, especially in trans communities.
Experts Blame Anti-Trans Laws for Rising Transgender Deaths in US
The Guardian reported that the rising trans deaths revealed by the new NCTE report were revealed as the U.S. government creates more anti-transgender legislation and rhetoric.
"It is no coincidence that we are seeing anti-trans violence rise at the same time as we're seeing anti-trans legislation rise," said NCTE Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen.
"Every year from 2020 to today, we have broken the record... of anti-transgender bills ever introduced," he added.
The NCTE leader claimed that physical violence against trans people is further increasing as American officials release more anti-trans policies.
He explained that this is happening because the anti-LGBTQ+ laws act as a signal about whose lives are more important than others. The National Center for Transgender Equality said that trans people cover the majority of the deaths they recorded in 2022.
Over 30 US States Introduce Anti-Trans Laws
Heng-Lehtinen said that there's no denying that the overall hate crimes in the United States are decreasing. However, the hate against LGBTQ members, especially trans people, is not getting better.
In October, the FBI's national crime statistics revealed that hate crimes based on gender identity increased by 32%.9 compared to the same month in 2022.
The increases in trans hate crimes and deaths are all happening as more anti-transgender laws are being introduced. According to Reuters, over 35 U.S. states created at least 142 bills against transgenders.
These policies specifically aim to restrict them from gender-affirming healthcare and other benefits.
This is why NCTE and other organizations supporting the rights of LGBTQ members are urging the U.S. government to avoid and take down laws that prevent them from receiving the benefits that other Americans are receiving.
If you want to learn more details about the worsening death cases among trans people because of anti-transgender laws, you can click this link.
