Olivia Colman, Jameela Jamil and Paloma Faith condemn ‘violence and hostility’ against trans women in open letter
‘Our feminism is against any and all violence, against any and all women,' letter says
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Your support makes all the difference.Olivia Colman, Jameela Jamil and Paloma Faith have signed an open letter condemning “hostility and violence” against trans women, joining a chorus of voices to do so on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.
The letter, which pledges solidarity with trans women, who experience significantly higher levels of violence, was also signed by Labour MPs Nadia Whittome and Zarah Sultana.
Two in five trans people (41 per cent) have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months, Stonewall’s 2018 Trans Report found.
The open letter says: "We are feminists and we write, on international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls, to express our solidarity with trans women, particularly trans women of colour, who experience violence and hostility so frequently it is almost a way of life.
"Trans women are more likely to be murdered, more likely to be victims of violent attacks in their own homes, and more likely to be homeless, again increasing the risk of violence, than their cis sisters.
"Those who use hostile, crude or mocking language towards trans women, demeaning their bodies, and refusing to accept that they are who they say they are, contribute to the culture which creates those discriminatory disparities, a culture which de-humanises trans women and girls thereby legitimising prejudice and violence against them.
"Those people, many of them in high places of fame, wealth and power, absolutely do not speak for us.
"Our firm belief is that an end to violence against women and girls will only be possible with the full might of the sisterhood working together – and so our feminism is against any and all violence, against any and all women.
“To our trans sisters on this day: we are with you.”
The UN has said that while all girls and women can suffer from gender-based violence, it highlights that some are especially vulnerable, identifying “women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrants and refugees, indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or women and girls living with HIV and disabilities, and those living through humanitarian crises” in particular.
The open letter was signed by:
Molly Mulready,
Olivia Coleman,
Reni Eddo-Lodge
Grace Campbell
Zarah Sultana MP,
Nicola Coughlan
Eleni Stefanou,
Zing Tsjeng,
Mona Chalabi
Rebecca Niblock,
Sally Mulready OBE
Ellie-Mae O’Hagan
Kuba Shand-Baptiste,
Eliza Mulready-Carroll
Tamsin Ormond
Tori Tunbridge
Elle Hunt
Ash Sarkar
Nadia Whittome MP
Olivia Streater
Candy Horsbrugh
Laura Snapes
Anika Grimm
Kathy Gentles
Nora Mulready
Julia Carrie Wong
Rehab Jaffer
Katie Ward,
Priscilla Kent,
Tabby Millest,
Sofie Grettve Von Rosen,
Sirin Kale
Astrid Everall,
Hannah Ewans,
Celia Telford,
Flora Coleman,
Lois Beckett,
Emily Mackay,
Emily Holden,
Anna Leach
Dani Dinger,
Clara Vulliamy,
Joan Greve,
Freddie Cook,
Toleana McKeown,
Emma Garland,
Lauren O’Neill,
Ashley Chervinski,
Claire Maugham,
Rachel Smethers,
Maya Goodfellow,
Kathryn Bromwich,
Victoria Stokes
Vivian Ho
Caitlin Curran
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