Transgender Death Statistics 1970 to 8/15/02

The following information has been extrapolated from the 'Remembering Our Dead' list, which only has the names of individuals who have been killed due to transgender prejudice. This does not mean that these people self-identified as being Transgender. Also, these are the murderers we know of, which may be only a tiny portion of those we may never know of. The increase in numbers over the years is based in part from the quality of reporting improving as time goes on.

The complete list (not shown here) has all the names in chronological order, with date, person's name (if known,) location of the crime and cause of death. At the end of the list are some side notes on a few of the victims, a list of the various causes of death, the states - in order of the most to the lease numbers, US cities - from most to least, and international locations.

The individuals on this list are our "brothers" and "sisters." Their lives mean more than just statistical numbers. We know this to be true. However, these numbers can be used as an activist tool to show hard evidence of the violence against Transgender people. It can also be considered a health issue, in the form of "causes of death." If we use this list in these manners, then the death of our "family members" will not be in vain.

Here are some of the statistics that have come from this list:

Totals:

242 total -

199 Domestic,
43 International, as of 8/15/02

Deadliest years:

1997 - 18
2000 - 18


Deadliest months:

6/90, 10/91, 12/92 - 4 each.

As of August, 2002, there are 15 names on the list for this year alone. This is one more than the total for 2001.

Averages per month (only the 1990s):

1990 through 1994 - 1 per month.
1990 to 1999 - 1.09 per month.
1995 to 1999 - 1.17 per month.
2000 to 8/15/02 - 1.41 per month

Causes of Death:
Shot - 86
Stabbed - 54
Beaten - 40
"Murdered" - 35
Strangled - 18
Drowned - 7

There are another 17 other causes of death, and 19 individuals have died from multiple causes.

Location by State, and number of cities reporting in that State:

California - 38, from 17 cities
New York - 32, 7 cities
Georgia - 14, 4 city
Texas - 12, 5 cites
Pennsylvania - 12, 4 cities
Florida - 1o, 6 cities
Tennessee - 9, 3 cities
Massachusetts - 7, 4 cities.
Illinois - 7, 2 cities
District of Columbia - 7, 1

There are 22 other states on the list.

Numbers by cities in the US:

New York City, (including Bronx and S. Bronx) - 28
Atlanta - 10
San Francisco and Philadelphia - 8 each
San Diego, Washington - 7 each
Chicago - 6
Nashville - 5
Oakland, Santa Ana, Boston, Miami and Houston - 4 each.

There are 71 other US cities on this list.

DEATHS PER CAPITA (1/Millions)
Domestic by State (based on 2000 Census)
District of Columbia - 1/.143
Hawaii - 1/.404
Georgia - 1/.585
New York - 1/.612
Tennessee - 1/.813
California - 1/.891
Massachusetts - 1/.907
Pennsylvania - 1/1.023
Alabama - 1/1.112
New Jersey - 1/1.402
Minnesota - 1/1.640
Maryland - 1/1.765
Illinois - 1/1.774
Texas - 1/1.896
Florida - 1/1.998
Ohio - 1/2.271

There are 16 countries on the list.

Canada and Guatemala top the international list with 9 and 5 respectively. Five of the deaths in Canada occurred in Toronto.

For a complete copy of the list, contact Gwen Smith at or Monica Helms at

Compiled by Gwendolyn Ann Smith from information found on http://www.gender.org/remember/.