Equality PA Mourns the Loss of Keisha Jenkins, the 18th transgender woman of color to be killed in the US this year

LINK TO THIS RELEASE: http://equalitypa.org/?p=1649

Philadelphia – Earlier this week, it was reported that Keisha Jenkins, 22, is the 18th transgender woman of color to be killed in the United States in 2015. Earlier this year, in May, London Kiki Channel, 21, was also murdered in Philadelphia.

As the 5th Annual Philadelphia Trans March is being held today, Ted Martin, Executive Director of Equality PA, issued the following statement:

"We mourn the loss of Keisha Jenkins, London Kiki Channel, and too many others. Violence against transgender women, and particularly transgender women of color, is too commonplace and it must stop. Without the recognition of the full human dignity of all transgender people, we will never be able to solve this problem. While there are more visible transgender people in media and popular culture, the daily reality of harassment, discrimination, and, too often, violence for the majority of transgender people in America is not acceptable. Change may seem to be fast on magazine covers, but it's not fast enough in the day-to-day lives of transgender people.

This incident also reinforces why Equality PA continues to fight for full equality of transgender people by advocating for the end to systemic issues that limit transgender people's access to health care, jobs, housing, and other basic needs."

ABOUT EQUALITY PENNSYLVANIA

With 60,000 members across the commonwealth, Equality Pennsylvania is the leading organization advancing equality and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Pennsylvanians.

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