Trans Awareness Week means upholding The Independent’s values

On Voices, we are proud to regularly platform trans writers, writes Harriet Williamson

Trans individuals need their voices heard more than ever (AFP/Getty)

From 13-19 November, we mark Trans Awareness Week, leading up to the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorialises the victims of transphobic violence around the world.

On Voices, we are proud to regularly platform trans writers – read the comic Jordan Gray’s recent piece about why she stripped off on Friday Night Live – and are not afraid to stand with trans folks in a media landscape where the personhood and human rights of trans folks are regularly put up for debate.

Sadly, the arguments used to demonise and dehumanise trans individuals are very similar to those used against gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the 1980s. When we look back on this period in history, we may wonder why lessons weren’t learnt from the days of Section 28, the Aids crisis and the way gay people were positioned as dangerous – to children, families and the institution of marriage.