The report lists the 22 victims, in combination with a brief description of who they were and how they lost their lives. However, not all trans people who died as a result of violence were included in the report. Some victims are not identified as transgender because journalists, family members or the authorities did not correctly recognize their gender, which makes it difficult to verify their gender identity.

In the last few years, however, the organisation has been able to identify 150 victims of transphobic violence. “This is a national crisis that demands the attention of lawmakers, law enforcement, the media and every American,” says Alphonso David, president of the HRC. “For too long, our system has failed the transgender community. We must continue to fight for real change in our laws, in our policies and our local communities so that every transgender person is treated with the dignity and respect every one of us deserves.”

The majority of the victims are African-American. Texas and Florida are the states where the most murders of trans people are committed. In addition, 90% of the murders were committed in areas where the poverty rate was higher than the national average. Half of the victims were killed by someone they knew personally.

“As a society, we must work harder to make sure that anti-transgender violence is reported and adequately prosecuted. Many transgender and gender non-conforming people, especially transgender people of colour, avoid interaction with law enforcement because they fear harassment, intimidation, incarceration or violence by law enforcement,” the HRC wrote in the report. The organisation also pleads for a better registration of violence against trans individuals. Victims are misgendered on a regular basis, or crimes are not reported at all.