Report reveals alarming rise in discrimination against the trans community ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance

As Transgender Day of Remembrance approaches on November 20, a new report from Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) highlights the escalating violence, erasure, and systemic neglect facing transgender people in the United States, alongside the community's continued resilience.

The 2025 Remembrance Report, compiled by A4TE's public education team and reported on by Advocate, documents 27 violent deaths and 21 suicides among transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals in the past year. The report notes a particularly troubling statistic: 61 percent of transgender individuals who died by suicide were between the ages of 15 and 24.

This is directly attributed to the dismantling of youth protections, the elimination of crucial crisis resources such as the LGBTQ-specific 988 suicide crisis line option, which ended under the Trump administration in June, and the proliferation of misinformation about gender identity originating from high-ranking government officials.

The report warns of an "extraordinary moment in the fight for trans lives," citing the censorship of critical health research, the rollback of civil rights protections, and the removal of references to transgender people from public government resources. It references President Donald Trump's return to office in January and subsequent executive orders, which mandated federal agencies to cease recognition of transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Bahari Thomas, A4TE’s director of public education, emphasized that the report's findings reflect long-standing structural inequalities that disproportionately affect transgender individuals, particularly Black trans women.

"At the intersections of racism, transphobia, and misogyny, we have these disproportionate impacts on Black trans women," Thomas explained. "Not only when it comes to physical violence, but also other forms of violence — lack of access to resources, housing, jobs — things that really impact their ability to thrive."

The report revealed that 15 of the 17 transgender women of color killed this year were Black, highlighting a persistent and deeply concerning trend. Gun violence accounted for 17 of the 27 violent deaths, including the tragic killing of Dream Johnson, a Black trans woman in Washington, D.C., who was shot after men allegedly shouted anti-trans slurs at her.

Thomas urged that the data be interpreted as a reflection of the nation's values and priorities. "If we are not protecting the most marginalized of us, then who is protected at all?" they asked. "When we lift up the most marginalized of us, including Black trans women, then we can all be lifted up by that."

The report also exposed a widespread crisis of intimate partner violence, with 40 percent of violent deaths involving partners or individuals the victims trusted. This includes the widely publicized case of Sam Nordquist, a Black trans man in New York, whose torture and killing drew national attention after police allegedly ignored multiple requests from his family for wellness checks.

Furthermore, the report details the federal government's explicit strategy of erasing transgender people from public life, including the removal of transgender health information from government platforms, the termination of research initiatives, and directives to avoid acknowledging transgender identities across government programs.

Thomas described the devastating consequences of this erasure, stating, "When the majority of folks don’t know a trans person, and they’re fed the idea that trans people don’t exist, it furthers this marginalization. It opens a door to further discrimination."

The report’s suicide data aligns with findings from the Trevor Project, which demonstrate a decline in well-being among transgender youth when access to care is restricted, affirming adults are scarce, or policymakers signal that transgender young people should disappear.

As Transgender Day of Remembrance nears, Thomas stressed that allyship requires continuous action, even in private settings. "You don’t need to know everything about what it means to be trans to say, ‘Hey, maybe show that person some respect,’” they said, emphasizing the importance of interrupting misinformation wherever it occurs.

If you are or anyone you know have been affected by the contents of this report, here are some available helplines that can talk to you about LGBTQ+ and mental health related issues: