Are LGBT Americans Safe Under Trump? Murder Of Four Transgenders Raises Concerns, Hate Crime Watchdog Group Says

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (NCAVP), an organization that tracks crimes against transgender people, reported Wednesday that four transgender black women had been murdered in the past week. The figure, higher than the corresponding number last year, which in itself was a record high, raises concerns of increasing violence against LGBT community under the Donald Trump-led administration.

“As we face an administration which devalues the safety and rights of transgender people and people of color, we must work tirelessly to support transgender friends, family, and community members,” Emily Waters, NCAVP manager, said in a statement.

According to NCAVP, around 23 transgender and gender nonconforming people were killed last year, the highest ever recorded by the organization.

Shelby Chestnut, the director of community organizing and public advocacy for the organization, said that the report about transgender homicides comes around the time when“the Trump administration is rolling back protections for transgender youth. This is totally unacceptable.”

“We need to protect transgender lives at all stages, but especially in youth where they experience bullying, family rejection and violence that affects them throughout their lives,” Chestnut said, while referring to the Trump administration’s controversial decision to undo an Obama policy by no longer instructing schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms and other single-sex facilities matching their gender identity.

A lot of the aforementioned incidents have been in linked to an overall increase of hate crimes and hate groups in America since the 2016 presidential elections. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) annual census of hate groups, for instance, noted an increase in overall hate groups and attributed this to the hateful rhetoric used by Trump during his election campaign.