I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: LGBTQ+ rights are about more than marriage. Queer people everywhere are still struggling to be allowed fundamental human and civil rights. Thousands of people are victims of hate crimes every year, with hundreds losing their lives simply for being/looking/acting queer. And there is a disturbing upward trend in anti-LGBTQH hate violence, with findings from the NCAVP revealing that 2014 saw a 19% rise in murders, a disproportionate amount of them affecting LGBTQH communities of color, transgender people, and transgender people of color:

• 80% of all homicide victims in 2014 were people of color.
• Over half (55%) of homicide victims were transgender women, and half (50%) of homicide victims were transgender women of color.
• 35% of homicide victims were gay or bisexual men.

This week, India Clark became the 10^th trans woman to be murdered in the US in 2015. And the picture on a global scale is equally devastating, with the TDOR 2014 update revealing 226 reported cases of murdered trans people worldwide in 2014.

With stats such as these, it is not difficult to see how trans issues should take center stage in the LGBTQ+ movement.

On a brighter note, 2015 has shown an increase of trans people in the show-business spotlight. And, as trans people have become more visible, so have trans struggles. And so should cis people wanting to act as exemplary trans allies. It’s also high time all members of the cis gay community learned their ABC. There is T in Team. And Together we are stronger. Become a trans ally. But do it respectfully. If unsure, read these tips, drawn from trans folk. And, if in Brighton, consider attending Trans Pride. The third ever Trans Pride Brighton weekend opens tomorrow, with the March in Solidarity.