Dr Rohit Dasgupta (Canning Town South) made an impassioned speech to councillors calling for action to protect trans and gender variant people who are the victims of discrimination and violence.

Speaking to mark International Trans day of Remembrance on November 20, he said 375 Trans and gender variant people globally had been murdered over the past year “because of hate and bigotry”.

“The number of reported crimes in this country has also increased dramatically and within Newham alone we have seen a dramatic increase of more than 50 per cent between February 2021 and October 2021,” he said, quoting figures from the Metropolitan Police.

And with further information on a worrying 10 year high in LGBTQ+ hate crimes being committed in London it was right to ask the Met what is being done to challenge this trend.

He said Trans people face huge barriers when it comes to secure housing, jobs, education and their own safety both online and offline.

“In the last few months alone we have seen staggering levels of toxic abuse creating a hostile space for our Trans siblings,” he said. “The level of political debate and media representation when it comes to Trans stories in this country has been shocking.”

Dasgupta criticised the government for promoting a culture war agenda “which is pitting Trans rights against other rights”.

He said there was no conflict between women’s rights and Trans rights.

“Our struggles are all connected,” he said. “As a queer person of colour I might face racism and homophobia but as a cis man [who has the same gender identity from birth] I also have privilege, I will never understand meaningfully the misogyny and transphobia that so many women colleagues face.

To emphasise the point, he told a moving personal story.

“Many years ago I was mentored by a trans aunt- Agniva Lahiri a pioneer in LGBTQ+ rights in Eastern India who also set up one of the first shelter homes forTrans people facing sexual abuse.

“Agniva or the Bengali terms mashi which means aunt that I referred to her by taught me many things but one of those things was to never stay silent in the face of discrimination even if it means putting ourselves in danger.

“Agniva passed away a few years ago but her words remain with me.”

He said that he works closely with the LGBTQ+ community globally and noted that

LGBTQ+ deaths are often forgotten.

“On trans day of remembrance let us pledge to be good allies to our Trans siblings, stand by them when times are hard, fight alongside them and above all listen to them.”

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