Sunday November 20 was the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Trans Sydney Pride (TSP) held Sydney’s first candlelight vigil to remember and honour transgender people from communities all over the world. The march drew around 250-300 people, and I suspect – and hope – that in the coming years, this number will grow.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance honours the memory of those who have been cruelly murdered in transphobic assaults, and is an attempt to raise the collective consciousness of wider society about these events. Almost all murdered trans people are trans women. Many of them are women of colour, many of them are sex workers, and almost all of them get no justice.
The Sydney vigil and remembrance events began at Harmony Park in Surry Hills. Something that surprised me (in a good way) was when the NSW Police unveiled a plaque dedicated to the trans community – it read, “Stand proud, the NSW Police Force stands with you.”
Some might look at this as a bizarre statement on behalf of the police force, considering the historically turbulent relationship between police and trans people. One of the many criticisms often levelled at police is that they simply don’t have empathy for trans people, which allows so many crimes against them to go unreported, underreported or unpunished.
I’m inclined to believe that the gesture of goodwill from the NSW Police signals an intention to really protect trans people – not just bow to social pressure with the minimum of lip service required for appeasement. While the antipathy between marginalised groups and the police can’t be divorced from present-day relations, that doesn’t mean that history will necessarily be doomed to forever repeat itself. I feel like this plaque, however ineffectual or symbolic it might seem, will at least provide some sort of insurance we can hold on to.
Moreover, I’m a big believer in police education. So many of our communities are justifiably afraid of the police. They aren’t being paranoid or precious – they have been repeatedly victimised or dismissed by police and have no reason to trust them.
Police should not inspire fear. They need to work with our communities, not against them. They need to show up, and they need to not protect the ignoramuses and bigots within their ranks from public criticism.
A similarly important part of the Day of Remembrance event in Sydney was the living library. It encouraged visitors to chat to trans people to promote understanding.
It’s easy to argue that the marginalised do not have to be responsible for the ignorance of others and that the onus of education is not on them. When it comes to entire institutions, however, this rings hollow. We need to educate our police, we need to educate our politicians, we need our institutions to have empathy and intelligence. And to get there, we need to do a little bit of self-education too.
[Transgender Day Of Remembrance photo by Cec Busby – Gay News Network]
This Week:
On Friday December 2, WoofClub presents Bunker, an exclusive leather and denim party in the deep dark basement of the Beauchamp Hotel, featuring resident DJ George Roussos and more special guests to be announced. The dress code is “leather/army/boots/rubber/latex/harness/sports kit/brickie’s shorts/old jeans/anything durty n’ ruff!” There’s also a smell code – cologne is strictly forbidden. Tickets are available now.
On Saturday December 3, head over to The Shift Club for the Hombre launch party. DJs Dan Slater, Chip and Dirty Nelly will spin uplifting, hands-in-the-air beats. The venue will be decked out with custom designed visuals, lighting installations and dark themes. Tickets are going fast.
And for the diary on Friday December 9, Hermann’s Bar at the University of Sydney is hosting a fundraiser – Jilamaruwi: Party The Tiwi Sistagirls To Sydney’s Mardi Gras. The Tiwi Sistagirls of Bathurst Island (80 kilometres north of Darwin) are coming to Sydney for Mardi Gras in March 2017, and they are asking for support with funds to cover flights, accommodation and to put together their float for the night. Donating their time and huge talents for your dancing (and fundraising) pleasure are PassionPop, The Real Housewife Of Sydney, HipHopHoe, Slé, Koco Carey, Yung Brujo, Marlene Cummins, VJ Icki Sweet and The Dreamtime Divas with more to be announced closer to the date.
