Durham police, activists raise transgender flag to honour victims of violence

Police and activists joined hands outside Durham Region’s headquarters Tuesday morning while the pink, white and blue flag representing those in the transgender community was raised to mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Dozens of people gathered for the ceremony in Whitby, Ont., for the annual worldwide event that honours members of the transgender community who lost their lives to violence or suicide.

“We lose so many in the community,” activist Christine Newman told Global News after she spoke at the event.

Newman, as well as others at Tuesday’s event, are looking to change what she, and police, call a widespread problem.

“The transgender community experiences violence on a greater level than other members of our community,” said Paul Martin, chief of Durham police.

A recent local case from within the transgender community is that of Alloura Wells, whose remains were found by Toronto police last year. Officers say the cause of her death is undetermined, but Wells, like many other members of the transgender community, was vulnerable — she was homeless and a sex worker.

“Many people get themselves in precarious situations,” said Jake Farr, a member of the transgender community who also spoke at the event, to Global News. “But, oftentimes, they’re there for circumstances that they didn’t want.”

Within the last decade, there have been nearly 3,000 murdered transgender people, according to the Trans Respect versus Transphobia Project. But, this number may be even bigger, as this includes only the reported cases.

Farr, who is from Pickering, Ont., says the day of remembrance is also a chance to honour those within the transgender community who have taken their own lives.

“When we talk about people who misuse substances in the trans community,” Far says, “a lot of them are doing that to bury all the sadness.”

Farr says Tuesday’s event is bringing forward that there is a hidden community here in Durham. “Many people are still hiding… not coming out because they’re afraid.”

Durham has its own equity-and-inclusion unit that is responsible for outreach to communities that, Martin says, “may not trust” them right now.

“We get that,” he said. “We’re not perfect… we have a lot of work to do and we’re trying to reach out and make sure that those conversations occur.”