'I have personally experienced a great deal of transphobia': Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience

Windsor, Ont. -

It’s Transgender Awareness Week in Canada. The week-long event serves as a celebration of transgender people, and an opportunity to learn more about the community.

"I have personally experienced a great deal of transphobia that comes with non-binary as well as queerphobia," says Brouillard-Coyle.

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience. The day honours the lives of transgender people who have been targeted by anti-trans prejudice and violence around the world, something 21-year-old Sydney Brouillard-Coyle knows all too well.

"The reality is we need allies in the Windsor community, Canada and around the world to stand up for the rights of trans individuals to advocate for justice and to respect the dignity of every human person," says Brouillard-Coyle, education coordinator at Trans Wellness Ontario.

As Transgender Awareness Week wraps up Saturday, many gathered at Lanspeary Park to honour 460 people who have died from transphobia worldwide.

"It’s disheartening and it shows the reality, that this violence is systemic it is inter-personal and it’s up to all of us to address it to build safe community," says Brouillard-Coyle.

"This violence is an epidemic in our community here and around the world. It doesn’t only affect trans people. This affects anybody who is being targeted for not being normal or fitting in, or adhering to really strict norms towards sex and gender," says Derrick Biso, Trans Wellness Ontario, volunteer coordinator.

Organizers say it’s been a struggle for acceptance. Back in February, the Trans Wellness building experienced homophobic and racist vandalism.

"We had our front windows smashed in. There was heavy damage, tens of thousands of dollars of damage to our centre. It wasn’t just swastikas and hate speech, it was literally rocks through windows, breaking glass and really shattering a sense of safety that we want to assume we have, that we don’t," says Biso.

Organizers hope there is an awakening and the community can come together in support.

"Give us space and room to try names to try pronouns , To dress up to dress down, just be ourselves without harassing us or bothering us or making us seem other or different," says Biso.

"It’s our responsibility to recognize transphobia, to educate ourselves and to combat this hatred and bigotry so that together we can create that society in that community where everyone feels safe to be their full authentic selves," says Brouillard-Coyle.