HRC: 32 trans people killed in 2022

A Human Rights Campaign (HRC) report released on Thursday showed that 32 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been killed in 2022.

The HRC said in a statement that it has been tracking violence against trans and non-conforming people for ten years. In that time, they have officially recorded at least 300 deaths. The highest known single-year total was in 2021, when at least 57 trans and non-conforming people were killed. The victims have been overwhelmingly Black, under 35, and killed with a firearm.

“Worse, these disturbing numbers likely underreport the deadly violence targeting transgender and gender non-confirming people, who may not be properly identified as transgender or gender non-conforming by police, media or other sources,” the organization said.

Since 2013:

More than four in five (85%) victims tracked were people of color, including approximately 69% who were Black and 15% who were Latinx;
Over three-quarters (77%) were under the age of 35;
Two-thirds (69%) of deaths involved a firearm;
15 people were killed by police or while incarcerated in jails, prisons, or ICE detention centers, including 2 in 2022 alone;
In 40% of cases, the killer remains unknown or at large, and no arrest has been made;
Of those with a known killer, two-thirds (65%) were killed by a person they knew;
- Nearly one-fifth (19%) of those whose killer is known were killed by an intimate partner
- Nearly one-tenth (9.7%) were killed by a friend or family member
- Over one third (36%) were killed by an acquaintance
Seven in ten (70%) of those killed were initially misgendered by the media and/or police.

The report has been released as anti-trans bills continue to be introduced into statehouses across the country. One was filed in Illinois just this week.

“The Transgender Day of Remembrance is a solemn tradition, a moment where transgender and non-binary people can gather together to mourn those lost and hope for a better future,” said Tori Cooper, director of community rngagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative. T”en years and over three hundred deaths that we know of is a grim milestone. I call on transgender people everywhere and our allies to respond to this dark moment by advocating anywhere and everywhere, to whomever will listen, in support of our lived & legal equality — and, most importantly, our lives. We will honor their lives and their memories with action.”

The 32 known transgender and gender non-conforming people killed so far in 2022 are: Amariey Lej, Duval Princess, Cypress Ramos, Naomie Skinner, Matthew Angelo Spampinato, Paloma Vazquez, Tatiana Labelle, Kathryn “Katie” Newhouse, Kenyatta “Kesha” Webster, Miia Love Parker, Ariyanna Mitchell, Fern Feather, Ray Muscat, Nedra Sequence Morris, Chanelika Y’Ella Dior Hemingway, Sasha Mason, Brazil Johnson, Shawmaynè Giselle Marie, Kitty Monroe, Martasia Richmond, Keshia Chanel Geter, Cherry Bush, Marisela Castro, Hayden Davis, Kandii Redd, Aaron Lynch, Maddie Hofmann, Dede Ricks, Mya Allen, Acey Morrison, Semaj Billingslea, and Tiffany Banks. HRC also tracks additional concerning deaths of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.