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Alarming Spike in Violence Against Cleveland’s Transgender Community Demands Action
A transgender woman was stabbed and wounded this weekend in her Cleveland apartment — the fourth known violent attack against a transgender person in the Ohio city this year, according to news reports.
While the survivor’s name is not yet public, Cleveland.com reported that police charged Ulious Brooks, 36, with felonious assault in the attack. According to police reports, the woman was found wounded in her apartment by her aunt, who heard the fight with Brooks.
This most recent attack occurred against an alarming backdrop of violence against transgender people in the city. During the last six months, two transgender women have been murdered and a homeless transgender woman was sexually assaulted in the Cleveland area.
Phylicia Mitchell, 45, was shot and killed outside her home on February 23. Her longtime partner, Shane Mitchell, described her as his soulmate.
“Everyone loved her,” Mitchell said. “My nieces and nephews opened up to her so much. She was just so funny and kind.”
On May 21, a 31-year-old transgender woman was sexually assaulted while sleeping in a Cleveland homeless shelter, according to Cleveland.com.
The woman, whose name was withheld, told the news outlet that she is too scared to return to the shelter, and fears for her safety when she passes a man on the street.
Keisha Wells, 58, was found dead with a gunshot wound to her abdomen in the parking lot of an apartment complex on June 24.
A longtime friend of Wells described her as “the nicest person ever” but also a “tough cookie.”
HRC stands with the Cleveland transgender community during this difficult time and urges a thorough investigation of these attacks. Elected leaders and policymakers must act to end this epidemic of violence.
Sadly, 2018 has already seen at least 14 transgender or non-binary people fatally shot or killed by other violent means nationwide.
Last fall, the HRC Foundation and the Trans People of Color Coalition released a report documenting the senseless acts of violence that made 2017 the deadliest year on record for transgender people, particularly for trans women of color.
To learn more about HRC’s transgender justice work, visit hrc.org/Transgender.
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