Transgender Day of Rememberance

Readers may be interested in the following announcement from FORGE:

In honor of the 2007 Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20, 2007), FORGE is pleased to announce the release of two new handouts individuals and organizations are invited to download and distribute: "Keeping Yourself Safe: Anti-trans Violence Awareness and Prevention," and "SOFFA Victims of Anti-Trans Violence.""Keeping Yourself Safe" acknowledges that while victims are never to be blamed for violence against them, there are tactics transgender and SOFFA (Significant Others, Friends, Family and Allies) individuals can use to keep themselves safer. The handout lists 12 safety tips, such as carrying a whistle and wearing clothes you can breathe and move easily in. "Keeping Yourself Safe" is available in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format at http://www.forge-forward.org/docs/KeepingYourselfSafe.pdf, or in web format at http://www.forge-forward.org/transviolence/safety.phpSOFFA Victims of Anti-Trans Violence" gives vignettes of eleven SOFFAs who were killed or seriously injured in anti-trans violence. All too often, Transgender Day of Remembrance events have acknowledged only trans victims of transphobia, even though many SOFFAs have also lost their lives due to transphobia. In some cases, SOFFAs were killed along with their trans loved ones but are no longer remembered nearly as well as their trans co-victim, such as Lisa Lambert and Philip DeVine, who were killed along with Brandon Teena. Other SOFFAs, like Pvt. Barry L. Winchell, were targeted specifically because of their connection with a trans person. Still other SOFFAs, like Willie Houston, were attacked because they were (erroneously) believed to be trans. "It's important that we recognize transphobia is dangerous to everyone, not just trans people," FORGE director michael munson said, "And this handout is designed to raise that awareness." The SOFFA Victims handout is available in PDF format at http://www.forge-forward.org/docs/SOFFAVictims.pdf or in web format at http://www.forge-forward.org/transviolence/SOFFAvictims.phpThe new handouts can also be accessed by clicking on the links at the upper right-hand side of the FORGE homepage, at www.forge-forward.org

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