Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

Community in Crisis: The Importance of Transgender Advocacy

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Temple chapter.

Kristina Gomez Reinwald, a 46-year-old transgender woman from Miami passed away last week. While the exact details are still unknown, the police have ruled her death a homicide.

Police are currently investigating her death, but her boyfriend is believed to be involved in the incident.

Reinwald’s death marks the seventh transgender murder in the United States in 2015 (). Furthermore, Reinwald is the sixth transgender person of color to be murdered this year and three of these murders were connected to acts of domestic violence.

Unfortunately, transgender people are often targeted and susceptible to much violence. 83% of transgender people indicated that they have been victims of verbal abuse because of their “gender identity or gender presentation”

The world has become a more dangerous place in general for most minorities.

Luckily, minorities are figuring out ways to be more vocal about their own injustices, but the trans community has not gained enough recognition for the tragedies that have affected them.

Hopefully as more transgender people speak up and inform the general public of the discriminatory issues that they face on a regular basis, the trans community will make strides in gaining acceptance and vocalizing their basic human rights.

Samara is currently a senior Journalism major at Temple University. She has always possessed a passion for writing and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for Her Campus Temple. Eventually, she hopes to work in the magazine industry. In her free time, she loves exploring the city of Philadelphia, trying new restaurants, and attending concerts. Samara can be reached at samara.grossel@temple.edu.
Kaitlin is an alumna of Temple University where she graduated with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Political Science. At Temple, she served as Campus Correspondent for Her Campus Temple and was a founding member and former Public Relations Vice President for the Iota Chi chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.  She currently serves Her Campus Media as a Region Leader and Chapter Advisor and was formally a Feature Writer for Fashion, Beauty and Health.