The Student Diversity Committee at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) recognizes November 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). Since 1999, TDOR has been an annual observance honoring the memory of transgender people who have lost their lives in anti-transgender violence, whether that be in acts of violence from others or from self-harm.
Between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, 47 transgender lives were taken in the United States and 386 worldwide. In the most recent US Transgender Survey, 47% of respondents reported being sexually assaulted at some point in their life, 30% reported mistreatment in the workplace due to their gender expression, and 10% reported violence from an immediate family member because they were transgender.
Gwendolyn Ann Smith, founder of TDOR and advocate, said, “Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”
RMUoHP is proud to support people from all backgrounds and diverse groups and bring awareness to health issues that impact the community. The RMUoHP Center for Communication Disorders currently supports the transgender community by offering pro-bono voice and communication therapy services.
On this day, we honor the memory of those that have lost their lives and recognize the opportunity to commit to being advocates and allies to the transgender community.
TDOR Information and Resources
- Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Virtual Vigil for Transgender Day of Remembrance
- National Center for Transgender Equality
- The Anti-Violence Project
- World Professional Association for Transgender Health
–Morgan Louie is a student in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program and Student Diversity Committee Chair at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions
