Athens, July 12, 2023
PRESS RELEASE:
Subject: «The GTSA denounces the murder of a trans woman, the dissemination of false information about the victim and calls on the State to take all the necessary measures for the complete clarification of the case and for the rendering of justice»
The Greek Transgender Support Association (GTSA), is a voluntary non-governmental organization that promotes the rights and freedoms of trans, gender-diverse, and LGBTQI persons in general, as well as sex workers, denounces with strong disgust the murder of a trans woman refugee, the dissemination of false information (misgendering) of the victim and calls on the State to take all the necessary measures for the complete clarification of the case and for the rendering of justice.
Specifically, on Monday July 10, 2023, Anna, a 46-year-old trans woman from Cuba, was found brutally murdered in her apartment in the AgiosPanteleimon area of Athens. Anna was a trans woman with multiple vulnerabilities as, in addition to her gender identity, she was a refugee, black, and occasionally sex worker. She has been a member of the Greek Transgender Support Association since September 2017, where she also had legal support for her asylum claim. She was active in the artistic field of the LGBTQI+ community, while in recent years she worked as a dancer-performer, which was also her main occupation in a well-known night club.
News of the murder of the unfortunate Anna came to light through the Athens News Agency, with completely false information (misgendering) about the victim, thus concealing the fact that it was the murder of a trans woman refugee. Although it was immediately reported on social media that the victim is a trans woman, many online newspapers and other media continue to this day not to acknowledge that the victim is a trans woman, refusing to correct the misinformation and restore the truth.
According to the Announcement of the Headquarters of the Hellenic Police , issued today, regarding publications reproduced on the internet which speak of misgendering of the Hellenic Police to the trans woman, it expressly answers that the first information given about the incident by the General Police Directorate of Attica never referred to a “man” as incorrectly described in the publications but to a “person”. But this strongly causes the feeling of concern that an information from the Hellenic Police was distorted in this way by the mass media, when in fact, the victim is a trans person, and specifically a trans woman and when this distortion of the information has not been done in other incidents, which are at least known to us. Regarding the Announcement of the Hellenic Police, although it refers to the respect for self-determination, dignity and the rights of all individuals, referring to a general context, for the LGBTQI+ community, it avoids restoring the original information that was gender neutral and referring to the victim as a trans woman. The complete absence of “gender identity” from the announcement is troubling, as the victim was a trans person and in the police training section it only refers to “sexual identity” and “gender expression”, creating several questions as sexual orientation it is not related to a person’s gender identity and may not be the main cause of this murder.
The GTSA, a few days ago with a Press Release had denounced the increasing attacks against LGBTQI+ persons that had come out in the middle of the pre-election period and had sounded the alarm, calling on the State to take all the necessary institutional measures to combat hate crimes.
Anna’s murder is the first recorded murder of a trans refugee and sex worker in our country, with the motive for the murder still unclear and no arrests yet. It is worrying that there was no intervention or statement from the other residents of the apartment building, while what is only known is that the trans woman was found murdered by her landlady when she went the next day to collect the rent.
As the process to clarify the case is still ongoing, the competent authorities should investigate the case in light of the existence of a racist motive, in accordance with the internationally recognized methodology of investigating racist crimes and other crimes motivated by hatred or the prejudice.
If we look at the official data that the Global Trans Murder Monitoring gives us every year, just before the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is celebrated every year on November 20, last year there were 327 murders of trans and gender-diverse persons, and if we add the deaths whose causes were not clarified, reach and exceed 389 records. These numbers are purely indicative as they are only the recorded incidents. The real number is many times higher, as in many countries trans people are either not recognized by their true identity, or there are no records at all.
In our country, however, according to the records of the Racist Violence Recording Network, the rates of racist incidents and discrimination, especially against trans persons, remain very high, and account for approximately 20% of the total recorded incidents, a number that is dramatically disproportionate compared to the small subgroup of trans and gender diverse persons in our country.According to the Network, a total of 74 incidents of racist violence were recorded for 2022, where 38 of them involved LGBTQI+ persons.
Given all the above, the GTSA and every democratic citizen cannot be complacent. It is our duty to watch, focus and insist on the full clarification of the case, and the rendering of justice.
The Greek Transgender Support Association demands:
1. The complete clarification of the case and the in-depth investigation by the competent Authorities.
2. The full investigation of racist motivation for reasons of gender identity/gender expression, refugee status, national origin, color and professional activity.
In addition, at the legislative level, the steps to be taken are many and important.
Shortcomings and limitations in gender identity legislation remain, as does the problematic anti-racism law, which punishes racist speech but only when it is linked to action, leaving racist speech unpunished. Racist speech is in many cases institutionalized freely even within the Greek Parliament, without any consequences for the members of parliament, while Greece has not implemented many of the recommendations of the Council of Europe in this area, and a supportive framework should also be institutionalized for human rights defenders. Also, equal treatment legislation still does not cover key areas such as education, health, social security, welfare, provision of services and goods, but also housing.
The Greek Transgender Support Association (GTSA) will be constantly alert and will do what is necessary, both for the effective and complete rendering of justice and for the demanding of institutional and legislative measures so that our society is protected to the optimum degree against stereotypes , prejudice, brutal violence and racism.
THE BOARD OF MEMBERS
GREEK TRANSGENDER SUPPORT ASSOCIATION
15 ViktorosUgo, 10437, Athens
Trans Day Reception & Empowerment Center: Evangelistrias 6, Kallithea Athens, 17671
Tel. 210.9210 697 & 698 753 9741
Office hours for the public: Tuesday & Thursday – 12.00-20.00
http://tgender.gr – http://www.transgender-association.gr/
syd.secretary@gmail.com – transgender.support.association@gmail.com
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