People within the LGBTQ community are significantly more likely to experience sexual assault than their cis-het peers. Trans members of this community endure sexual assault even more. Because sexual assault is about power, not sex, the people most vulnerable in our society are often harmed the most. As we’ve seen, thanks to a wave of anti-trans legislation, our society wants us to believe that trans people are not in charge of their own bodies. Media that portrays trans people as either liars or punchlines has stoked distrust of trans folks across the world. Their autonomy is constantly threatened by governments, religions, and individuals who wish them harm. Everyone should have the right to control their own bodies, but that’s not the reality for many trans survivors. Especially trans folks who live an intersection of oppressed identities. Statistics show time and time again that Black trans women are the demographic most at risk for experiencing violence in this country. Trans people have their bodies policed by both systems and individuals. Many trans survivors hesitate to report their sexual assaults to a system designed to harm them, or even just ignore them. For trans survivors #DeminIsn’tAlwaysDenim; it’s the weight of a society who doesn’t protect them.
