Trans Legal Clinic will be hosting an event this evening (20 Nov) at Trafalgar Square
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY PIXABAY
Kate Nash and Zack Polanski will join Trans Legal Clinic for a powerful vigil this Transgender Day of Remembrance (20 November).
Held in Trafalgar Square, this candlelit vigil will honour the trans+ lives lost to violence and injustice in the UK. Bringing together the trans community and allies, this vigil will run from 7 pm to offer a place for attendees to mourn, remember and continue the fight for dignity, safety and justice for all trans+ people.
Speakers on the day include founder of Trans Legal Clinic, Olivia Campbell Cavendish, leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, Kate Nash, Nadia Whittome MP, Siân Berry MP and founder of Trans Pride London, Lucia Blayke. Kate Litman, sister of Alice Liman, a trans woman who died by suicide while awaiting gender affirming care, will also be in attendance.
Olivia Campbell Cavendish, founder and executive director of the Trans Legal Clinic, said: “Our community continues to face violence and injustice in an atmosphere fuelled by political hostility, misinformation, and deliberate attempts to undermine our existence. Trans Day of Remembrance lets us reflect on the cost of this hatred and remember those we have lost. We have made a deliberate choice to focus on justice, with our theme being ‘in justice, there is hope’. We want to move our community into action by rallying them around mourning and remembrance.”
Britain’s first openly trans judge, Dr Victoria McCloud, will also give a speech at this vigil. Earlier this year, Dr McCloud announced that she would challenge the UK Supreme Court ruling by taking it to the European Court of Human Rights.
During the vigil, the names of more than 300 trans+ individuals who have lost their lives in the past year will be read aloud. This powerful but harrowing moment will bring a spotlight onto the levels of violence the trans+ community faces every day. The vigil will also highlight the severe inequalities in access to justice experienced by trans+ people, particularly those who are most marginalised, including trans women, working-class, Black/racialised, sex workers, and disabled and neurodivergent trans people.
Find out more about Trans Legal Clinic here: translegalclinic.com/
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