International Transgender Day of Visibility

International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) occurs every year on March 31st. This day is dedicated to celebrating transgender people, their contributions to society and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide.

The day was founded by US transgender activist Rachel Crandall of Michigan in 2009 as a reaction to the lack of recognition of transgender people. Transgender Day of Remembrance in November is a day to memorialize lives lost to anti-transgender violence. TDOV is a day dedicated to empower and celebrate the lives of transgender and nonbinary people.  

Transphobic sentiments continue to escalate among the far-right in Canada. In the United States and United Kingdom, bills and laws are being issued that target transgender civil rights, threatening lives and communities. Transgender Day of Visibility is a day to combat the hate, to uplift and celebrate the trans community, and advance awareness about the challenges they face.

Trans people are a vital part of our community and an essential component of the workforce and the labour movement. Trans people have always been a part of Canada's life and history, and there is no possibility of winning workplace protections and rights unless we can win them for everyone.

The 2020 UFCW OUTreach historic binational survey of LGBTQ+ union members found that UFCW members who identify as Intersex, Transgender or non-binary observed or experienced anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace at far higher rates than all other workers.

Out of the 1,000 survey member response, 49% of all workers stated that they observed or experienced anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace over the last 5 years, a figure which rose to 85% when respondents identified as intersex, transgender or non-binary.

Considering Canadian-specific data, the Survey of Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS) provides national data on the prevalence of violence experienced by transgender persons in Canada. It also released findings in 2020 which found that transgender people are more likely to be a target of abuse and violence in public, online, and at work.

As attacks on the transgender community intensify in these troubling times, celebrating Trans Day of Visibility is more important than ever before.

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