Diosvany Muñoz Robaina, 24 years old, was stoned to death in Pinar del Río, Cuba, on April 26.

Mercedes Williams, 17 years old, was beaten to death in Rocky Creek, Alabama, on May 30.

Laura Vermont, 18 years old, was beaten to death by police in São Paolo, Brazil, on June 20.

L.R.O. Dorta, 26 years old, was decapitated in Pernambuco, Brazil, on July 12.

An unidentified 41-year-old died of severe head and neck trauma in Alicante, Spain, on July 21.

Nephi Luthers, 20 years old, was fatally shot in Georgetown, Guyana, on July 31.

Tamara Dominguez, 36 years old, died after being repeatedly run over by a vehicle in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 15.

Marcela Chocobar, 26 years old, was dismembered and burned in Río Gallegos, Argentina, on September 4.

This list is only a fraction of the murders of transgender people this year.

These are also some of the names of people who will be remembered on the 2015 Trans Day of Remembrance.

The international event is held in November to honour the memory of those who have been killed in acts of transphobic violence, and to raise awareness about ongoing transphobia as well as the need for transgender rights.

In Vancouver, a march and vigil will be held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday (November 20).

Participants will gather at the Robson Street side of the Vancouver Art Gallery, where the first Canadian TDOR took place in 2001, and march along Robson Street before heading north on Seymour to Hastings.

The original location of the vigil was the Carnegie Community Centre. However, the memorial, to take place at 7 p.m., has changed to SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings Street).

Founder Tami Starlight told the Georgia Straight by phone that SFU Out on Campus and the Simon Fraser Public Interest Group, a student-funded resource centre dedicated to social and environmental justice, helped them secure a space at SFU Harbour Centre.  

"We saw an opportunity to network with an academic committee," Starlight said.

Starlight pointed out that there's a difference between the march, which hasn't taken place in Vancouver for several years, and the memorial.

"The march is about the street visibility and perhaps being a bit more rambunctious and vocal whereas the vigil is quite solemn."

Starlight said that when the organizing committee met last night, she was struck by how devastating the reality is for trans people around the world.

"There's an attempt to literally erase their identity," she said. "People stabbed 30 times and lit on fire—it's very horrendous."

Starlight also spoke about how challenging the ongoing struggle for trans rights continues to be in Canada.

"It's really painfully slow....It's a calling to our society at large about how slow, arduous, and difficult a process is to be afforded the basic human rights that every other Canadian is afforded. Workplace protection, health care access—all of those things….All struggles for rights, regardless of your social status, are deserving of respect and support."

For more information about the event, or to volunteer or donate, visit the Vancouver TDOR website or the event's Facebook webpage.