Many in the transgender community are mourning the death of British teenager Brianna Ghey, a trans girl who was stabbed to death on Sunday.
Ghey, 16, was found dead in a park in Warrington, England, approximately 16 miles west of Manchester, England, with visible stab wounds. British authorities said. Police said they arrested two teenagers, both 15, on suspicion of the murder.
Ghey’s family issued a statement through local authorities, saying Ghey was «a much-loved character» and «a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all who knew her.»
«The loss of his young life has left a great void in our family, and we know the teachers and their friends who were involved in his life will feel the same way,» Ghey’s family wrote.
According to the authorities, there are currently no evidence to suggest that Ghey’s murder was «hate related». This did little to quell discontent among trans activists over the larger transphobic sentiments they say pervade the whole of the UK.
In a tweet that has amassed more than 872,000 views as of Monday afternoon, one user criticized trans-exclusive radical feminists, or TERFs, on behalf of Ghey’s death.
The climate in the UK has become increasingly hostile to trans people in recent years. For example, JK Rowling, the author and creator of the Harry Potter saga, has become an outspoken critic of trans rights. In a nearly 4,000-word blog post in 2020, the best-selling author said allowing trans women to use women’s bathrooms and changing rooms would make cisgender women «less safe,» a talking point against trans people who has been discredited by research.
Simultaneously, in recent years, trans activists have accused the British press of stoking or damping anti-trans sentiment.
In particular, the BBC came under fire from LGBTQ activists last year after it published an article that many critics said portrayed all transgender women as sexual predators. The British broadcaster defended its article, titled «Some trans women are pressuring us to have sex», arguing that it went through a «rigorous editorial process».
The outcry against the media grew louder among trans activists on Monday, after the British newspaper The Times «named» Ghey – that is, published the name Ghey had before his transition.
“I will be writing to @thetimes and @IpsoNews regarding this,” British MP Charlotte Nichols wrote on Twitter on Monday, referring to The Times and Britain’s media regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
The Times did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment. An IPSO spokesman declined to comment.
Following Ghey’s death on Sunday, some trans activists also criticized the government for the lack of a national law allowing trans people in the UK to change gender without a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which is the distress caused by a sense of conflict. between an individual’s sex assigned at birth and her gender identity. Last month, the British government blocked the implementation of a similar «self-identification» law in Scotland.
Without such legislation, Ghey’s death certificate may leave her dead, some trans activists have said in recent days.
“Trans people like Brianna struggle to tell the truth when everyone else wants us to tell a lie,” Gillian Branstter, a communications strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote on Twitter on Monday. “We are routinely censored and penalized for that truth. And too often, the police, the media, and even our own families see our death as an opportunity to erase that truth.»