This week, the Hamilton Police Services (HPS) released community alerts about a hate motivated assault against a transgender community member. This incident occurred in the early morning of Saturday, October 25 at approximately 2:30 a.m., in Hess Village. Although two arrests were made, police are still actively seeking information about additional individuals involved. We encourage anyone with information that could assist the police investigation to contact Detective Lyndsay Scott at LScott@hamiltonpolice.ca or 905-546-5678. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Include images/screen shots from: https://hamiltonpolice.on.ca/news/update-arrests-made-in-hate-motivated-assault/ Unfortunately, this is not the only recent hate motivated attack against a member of Hamilton’s Two-Spirit, trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse community that we are aware of.
Attacks against our local trans siblings are increasing in number and severity. This rise in hate is directly tied to the dehumanizing politicization of trans lives. In the United States, the Trump administration is implementing policies designed to erase trans people from public life. In our own country, the provincial governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta have invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to strip trans people of their fundamental rights protections. And in Hamilton, we’ve witnessed billboards calling for an end to gender-affirming care for trans youth and academic research designed to undermine access to gender affirming care. This growing climate of hate is having a real-life impact on the safety of our city for our trans siblings.
We stand in solidarity with our trans siblings, and we call on our allies and community leaders to stand up publicly for trans right and trans safety. We will continue to actively work with our local trans community members, partners, and allies to make Hamilton safe for all.
We encourage anyone who has experienced or been impacted by an incident of
transphobic hate in Hamilton to reach out to us for support and community resources.
