Engagement

Stonewall now campaigning on trans* rights

Whether we’re challenging bullying in our schools, tackling hate crime on our streets or working to make our public services truly equal for users, we have a responsibility to use our voice and share our 25 years of experience

In a quite historic move from the previously LGB charity Stonewall They said that from today they will campaign for Lesbian, gay and bisexual and trans equality and rights.

Stonewall has spent the last number of months meeting over 700 different trans* people respercenting as much as the spectrum as possible. As a result of this they come up with a report outlining out lining about making current and to also develop new ones on trans issues and also about training.

Now we can’t forget that in the past Stonewall have made some massive mistakes such as working with Paddy power after their transphobic TV advert for lady’s day at Cheltenham races (which was later banned by the ASA) but they have apologised for this and stated that they wanted to start a consultation to look at the most effective ways of working together.

To find out more read their report: Trans people and Stonewall

Or

Pink News: Article

Being blocked…

Over the past month I’ve been in constant battle with the 3 network in the UK about them filtering my blog because of ‘Adult’ content… But they weren’t the only ones (Vodafone, O2 and Sky) but these networks and providers quickly unblocked it after I pointed it out.

Now I’m not after website traffic or anything but it’s a point to make to them that it’s censorship of free speech but also stopping people finding figures and info about LGBT and personal mental health experiences.

Now 3 briefly unblocked my website only to only to reblock this week (as you can see from the photo).

Now this sort of thing is part of a bigger problem, the UK government is promoting filters (and making ISP’s) to prevent children and young people from seeing content that is supposed to be for over 18’s, such pornography, alcohol, smoking, pro-anorexia and hate speech.

These filters block many more websites that are not harmful to children. Sometimes innocent websites and blogs get caught up (like Pink News). I’ve also heard and seen evidence of others (sexual health, lgbt information, domestic abuse help sites ext)

Looking at https://www.blocked.org.uk, they’ve taken the top 100,000 websites (according to Alxea) and published how many sites were blocked by default. Here’s the results:

BT-Light: 0
BT-Moderate: 3852
BT-Strict: 6876
EE: 1596
O2: 4786
Plus net: 4940
Sky filter default: 0
TalkTalk Kidsafe: 7020
TalkTalk Strict: 5653
Three: 12982
VirginMedia: 5103
Vodafone: 4441

Out of all the mobile networks Three were the worst and the main ISP’S it was TalkTalk Kidsafe… Wonder how many Inccent websites were quite up?

SEXUAL HEALTH CLINIC OPEN….no gays allowed! – Part 2

Disgusting that in 2015, a sexual health clinic is (or was) turning away gay men and sex workers. Something which the first one is not allowed to do under the equality act (refusing a service based on someone’s protected characteristics, I believe)

Some thoughts on Transgender Day of Remembrance

So today is that time of the year where it’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. Since the last TDoR over 200 trans* women were killed just for being who they were and a large number of people killed were overwhelmingly people of colour.

Being Transgender is not fun at all, you can be assaulted, verbally abused, questioned about your name or what genitals you have and as I wrote about earlier you can be killed just for being who you are. You might have to explain your anatomy or history to partners as well all while not knowing how they will react.

As a trans woman with a support network I still have a hard time believing if any partner would love me as who I am or if they’re treating me as a secret. In the past I’ve been assaulted, threatened, stalked and even had death threats put through my door just because for being who I am. These are things I’ve come to expect for being trans now and as I expect for being outspoken and campaigning on LGB&T issues locally and around the country.

It really shouldn’t be this way, everyday I wish I could of been born a cis woman or wishing some people wouldn’t bring up or know my old name. I also wish that being trans (or having a trans history) wasn’t a big deal for some people.

Like I said earlier I have a great support network from friends, family but also from Twitter and the likes of people I’ve met through facebook but it’s still hard to get though each day knowing about what people say/think or even do to us. That knowing there’s people who will want to invade our privacy, or think it’s okey to ask intimate details about our lives (like who we love? How do we do it? What parts do we have?). Sadly people have asked me these (and also asked friends or family of mine this as well)

For four years now I’ve been a outspoken campaigner on LGB&T issues (Mainly the T) and have seen many things improve in my time such as the increasing awareness of trans issues and people BUT the fact that there’s so much more that needs changing still but it’s a uphill battle.

I thank my friends and family for being there for me and everyone else for being there for all the trans people in their lives. We need it and appreciate it (even if we don’t say it or show it). We don’t do what we do to be inspirational (I think we all get told this at some point). We are resilient, beautiful people with complex stories and who knew, perhaps better than anyone, what it means to overcome and I hope daily that the work that people like us are doing will allow more of us to overcome the violence that this world does to us so often.

We aren’t going to be going away and the light of everyone of us that is taken to soon, will carry on in each one of us as the fire in the bellies, of us who live to see another day, to carry on fighting

The hidden extent of suicide attempts in Young trans people

While browsing the web today I come across some shocking numbers about suicide attempts among young trans people (16 to 26 year olds).

According to these numbers 48% of trans people who were under the age of 26 said they have attempted suicide and 30% said they have attempted suicide in the last year. Also 59% of trans youth said they had considered it.

The research also found that 59% of young transgender people said they had deliberately hurt themselves, compared with 8.9% of all 16 to 24 year olds.

If you compare this to the numbers by the Adult Psychiatry Morbidity Survey (6% of 16 to 24 year olds who have attempted suicide) there’s a massive different this can come down to many different reasons such as but not limited to; being disowned by family, being bullied because of their gender identity or down to lack of support from local mental health services but this is improving with the help of charity’s such as Gender Intelligence or Mermaids UK

This research was carried out by Pace (a mental health charity for LGBT people) with The Brunel University, University of Worcester and the London South Bank University. It involved asking over 2,000 over the space of four years (2010 to 2014)

If you have been effected by anything on here and need to speak to someone you can contact the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 08457 909090

Or in the USA

Suicide Prevention lifeline on 18002738255

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2014

Transgender day of remembrance is on the 20th November every year and it means a lot in the trans* community as it gives chance for us to remember those who have sadly died in the past year, murdered because of just the gender they are. There’s a lot of events being held across the country and around the world ( events ) Normally candles are lit for each person and names are read out. As each one is said, the candle is put out.

Below is a full list for 2013-2014 listing their name, age, where the person died also sadly how and the date of death

Jacqueline Cowdrey (50 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Worthing, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Date of death: November 20th, 2013
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Rosa Ribut (Jon Syah Ribut – 35 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma
Location of death: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date of death: November 24th, 2013
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Betty Skinner (52 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma to the head
Location of death: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Date of death: December 4th, 2013
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Brittany Stergis (22 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wound to the head
Location of death: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Date of death: December 5th, 2013
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Elizalber Oliveira de Mesquita (39 years old)
Cause of death: stoned to death
Location of death: Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Date of death: January 5th, 2014
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Paloma
Cause of death: multiple gunshots to the head and chest
Location of death: Belém, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: January 8th, 2014
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Rayka Tomaz (20 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds.
Location of death: Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: January 10th, 2014
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Prince Joe (Joseph Sanchez – 18 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds, dumped on the street
Location of death: Belize City, Belize
Date of death: January 12th, 2014
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Toni Gretchen (50 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Date of death: January 16th, 2014
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Luana (20 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot to the chest
Location of death: Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: January 10th, 2014
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Cristal (Alexandre Nascimento de Araújo – 22 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot
Location of death: Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Date of death: January 19th, 2014
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Thifani (18 years old)
Cause of death: dismembered
Location of death: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: January 27th, 2014
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Joice (José Antônio Vieira Freitas – 32 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Date of death: January 28th, 2014
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Sarita (Marcos de Almeida Oliveira)
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Itabela, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: January 29, 2014
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Juju (Julian de Souza Cruz – 32 years old)
Cause of death: beaten and stoned to death
Location of death: Salgueiro, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: January 29th, 2014
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Raíssa (Lourivaldo Xavier)
Cause of death: 6 gunshots to head and chest
Location of death: Cuiabá,Mato Gross, Brazil
Date of death: February 1st, 2014
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Tatty
Cause of death: facial injuries
Location of death: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Date of death: February 7th, 2014
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Rafaela (Alexsandro Alderotti José dos Santos – 32 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshots
Location of death: Recife, Brazil
Date of death: February 11th, 2014
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Alex Medeiros (8 years old)
Cause of death: Beaten to death by father for refusing to cut hair, liking women’s clothes, and dancing.
Location of death: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: February 18th, 2014
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Paulete
Cause of death: multiple gunshots to the face
Location of death: Taguatinga, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2014
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Camila Veronezi (24 years old)
Cause of death: suffocation
Location of death: Bragança Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 21st, 2014
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Lu (Célio Martins da Silva)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Nova Serrana, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: February 23rd, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: gunshots
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 27th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: gunshots
Location of death: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: February 28th, 2014
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Kitana
Cause of death: 3 gunshot wounds to the head
Location of death:Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: Feburary 28th, 2014
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Sarita do Sopão (39 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Date of death: January 29th, 2014
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Andressa Pinheiro
Cause of death: 15 stab wounds, dragged, fractured skull
Location of death:João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: March 1st, 2014
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Rose Maria (32 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed in the neck
Location of death: Brás, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: March 5th, 2014
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Vitória (16 years old)
Cause of death: 2 gunshot wounds to the chest
Location of death: Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil
Date of death: March 12th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: burned to death
Location of death: Jardim Ingá, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: March 14th, 2014
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Paulete (Paulo Roberto Lima dos Santos – 19 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Date of death: March 17th, 2014
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Marciana
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Iguatu, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: March 24th, 2014
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Nicole (Marcos Vinicius Machado – 20 years old)
Cause of death: hands and feet bound, stabbed in the neck and abdomen
Location of death: Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil
Date of death: March 28th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: dismemberment
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: March 23rd, 2014
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Giovana Souza Silva (33 years old)
Cause of death: gunshots
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: March 29th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: beaten with weapon, fists by several people, dragged through the street.
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: March 29th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: blow to the head with iron bar
Location of death: Sobral, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: April 2nd, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: beaten and strangled to death.
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: April 2nd, 2014
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Mileide
Cause of death: 4 gunshot wounds
Location of death: Santo Antônio, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Date of death: April 7th, 2014
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Valquíria (aka Josivaldo Ribeiro Oliveira Brito)
Cause of death: gunshot to back.
Location of death: Praça dos Carreiros, Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Date of death: April 20th, 2014
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Çağla Joker
Cause of death: gunshot to the chest
Location of death: Tarlabaşı, Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
Date of death: April 21st, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: four gunshots
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: May 29th, 2014
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Marcia Moraes (34 years old)
Cause of death: four gunshots
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: May 29th, 2014
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Kandy Hall (40 years old)
Cause of death: massive trauma, body left in a field
Location of death: Montebello, Maryland, USA
Date of death: June 3rd, 2014
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Paola (Anderson Arruda Camote) (29 years old)
Cause of death: knife wounds to neck, feet and hands tied
Location of death: Arandu, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 8th, 2014
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Zoraida “Ale” Reyes (28 years old)
Cause of death:choked to death
Location of death: Anaheim, California, United States
Date of death: June 10th, 2014
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Mia Henderson (26 years old)
Cause of death: massive trauma, found dead in alley.
Location of death: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Date of death: June 16th, 2014
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Yaz’min Shancez
Cause of death:murdered, and burned
Location of death: Fort Myers, Florida, United States
Date of death: June 19th, 2014
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André Luiz Borges Rocha
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to the face
Location of death: Tijucal, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: June 23rd, 2014
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Tiffany Edwards (28 years old)
Cause of death:shot to death
Location of death: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Date of death: June 26th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: raped before being brutally executed with blows to head.
Location of death: Coruripe, Alagoas, Brazil
Date of death: June 30th, 2014
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Kellen Santorine
Cause of death: raped before being brutally executed with blows to head.
Location of death: Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: July 13th, 2014
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Mackelly Castro (age:24)
Cause of death: hanging
Location of death: Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Date of death: July 18th, 2014
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Lele (age:24)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Roatán, Honduras
Date of death: July 18th, 2014
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Dennysi Brandão (age:24)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds to the hip, chest, and back.
Location of death: Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: July 24th, 2014
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Alisson Henrique da Silva (age:25)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Date of death: July 31st, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: found dead, with eyes removed.
Location of death: Jardim dos Ipês Itaquaquecetuba, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: August 9th, 2014
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Alejandra Leos
Cause of death: gunshot to the back
Location of death: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Date of death: September 5th, 2014
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Karen Alanis (age:23)
Cause of death: thrown from vehicle, ran over
Location of death: Caçapava, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2014
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Marcela Duque (46 years old)
Cause of death: stoned to death
Location of death: Medellín, Colombia
Date of death: September 9th, 2014
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Cris
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Portal da Foz, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
Date of death: September 13th, 2014
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Marcela Lopez
Cause of death: Stoning
Location of death: Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Date of death: September 14th, 2014
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Mahadevi
Cause of death: pushed off moving train
Location of death: Malleshwara, Karnataka, India
Date of death: September 25th, 2014
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Bruna Lakiss (26 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wound
Location of death: Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2014
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Aniya Parker
Cause of death: gunshot wound to the head
Location of death: East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Date of death: October 3rd, 2014
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Gaivota dos Santos
Cause of death: three shots to the face
Location of death: Rio Largo, Alagoas, Brazil
Date of death: October 1st, 2014
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Géia Borghi
Cause of death: shot in the chest, bound, gagged, set afire
Location of death: Monte Mor, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: October 9th, 2014
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Jennifer Laude
Cause of death: asphyxiation by drowning
Location of death: Subic Bay, Zambales, Philippines
Date of death: October 11th, 2014
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Sara (27 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot
Location of death: Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: October 12th, 2014
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Aguinaldo Cláudio Colombelli (45 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds
Location of death: Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: October 16th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: October 16th, 2014
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Flávia
Cause of death: three gunshots
Location of death: Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: October 20th, 2014
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Mary Joy Añonuevo (55 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed 33 times
Location of death: Lucena, Quezon, Philippines
Date of death: October 21st, 2014
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Ashley Sherman
Cause of death: shot in the head
Location of death: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Date of death: October 27st, 2014
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Maicon
Cause of death: Gunshot
Location of death: Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: November 1st, 2014
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Letícia
Cause of death:stabbed in the chest
Location of death: Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: November 6th, 2014
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Raquel
Cause of death:Gunshot
Location of death: Parnamirim, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Date of death: November 6th, 2014
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Adriana (16 years old)
Cause of death:Gunshot, body wrapped in sheet, tied to tree trunk, thrown in river.
Location of death: Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Date of death: November 9th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death:throat cut
Location of death: Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: November 9th, 2014
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Unknown woman
Cause of death:shot and burned
Location of death: Tblisi, Georgia
Date of death: November 10th, 2014
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Gizzy Fowler
Cause of death:Gunshot
Location of death: Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Date of death: November 10th, 2014

(Information from TDoR Website

A win for the week

I never thought anything I wrote would be published or rank highly on websites I’ve submitted to but this week was a surprise. One of tweets (yes I know it’s only a tweet) was published in Diva (a lesbian magazine in the uk) and one of my reddit posts is the top 3 in the LGBT section (so if your on reddit feel free to up vote it to get it number one)