Flag raised in Pickering to honour Transgender Awareness Week

PFLAG Canada, the City of Pickering and Durham Region got together Tuesday morning in Pickering for a Flag Raising Ceremony in recognition of  Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19) and  Transgender Day Of Remembrance on November 20.

The object of the flag-raising is to raise the visibility of the transgender community and challenge all forms of transphobic prejudice, discrimination, and violence.

Transgender Day of Remembrance specifically honours the memory of transgender people whose lives have been lost to transphobic violence. Its origins date back to 1999, when Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized a vigil and march to honour Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all transgender homicide victims in the United States and began an entire movement that is now observed globally.