The annual Transgender Day of Remembrance is on Nov. 20, and the days leading up to it mark Transgender Awareness week. Advocates warn that transgender rights are increasingly under attack in New Jersey and elsewhere, highlighted by a surge in “culture war” political fights, particularly around protections for transgender students.
“About forty-four percent of transgender and nonbinary youth in New Jersey seriously considered suicide in the past year. So that’s really alarming,” said Jen Velten, senior director of trauma services with CarePlus New Jersey.
“There’s no need for transgender and nonbinary folks to have higher rates of suicidal ideation than the general population. But the lack of acceptance and understanding for transgender and nonbinary people is so pervasive that it makes it very difficult for trans people to come out,” said Jamie Zug, an attorney and transgender advocate.
Zug said the Transgender Day of Remembrance “is a day when we take a moment to remember the many transgender lives that have been lost over the last year. Inevitably it’s always trans women of color who lead when it comes to violence against people in the community.”
