When Laverne Cox was contemplating suicide, she planned to leave instructions for properly identifying her

Laverne Cox has been inspired to shed more light on her suicide attempt. (Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Laverne Cox has been inspired to shed more light on her suicide attempt. (Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Laverne Cox has mostly kept quiet about her suicide attempt since she spoke about it in 2014 — until now. The mistreatment of trans murder victims in Jacksonville, Fla., has driven her to revisit that past.

The Orange Is the New Black actress shared an article about trans murder on social media today, along with a lengthy and personal explanation. The ProPublica article addresses the way violence against trans people is handled across the country, specifically in Jacksonville. Over the past six months, four black trans women have been shot, three of them fatally, ProPublica reports. All three of the murders remain unsolved, possibly because the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office refuses to address the victims by their chosen names and genders. And the problem doesn’t just exist in Jacksonville. About 65 different law enforcement agencies have investigated murders of transgender people since Jan. 1, 2015, ProPublica found, and in 74 of 85 cases, victims were identified by names or genders they no longer used. Arrests have only been made in about half of the killings of transgender people nationwide in the last three and a half years.

Calling a trans person by the name they no longer use is referred to as “deadnaming” in the trans community, and it can hold up an investigation.

Many years ago when I was contemplating suicide, I was planning to have a note in my pocket at the time of my death and several other notes in my home which would state my name, preferred gender pronouns and that I should be referred to as a woman in my death. My note would be clear that I should not be referred to as Laverne Cox only not any other name. Being misgendered and deadnamed in my death felt like it would be the ultimate insult to the psychological and emotional injuries I was experiencing daily as a black trans woman in New York City, the injuries that made me want to take my own life. I used to share a lot more on social media about the murders of trans folks. I don't as much now because its retraumatizing for me to constantly live in this space of death, murder and the injustices that lead to these deaths. As I read this report from ProPublica I sobbed and wept for all the trans people who have been murdered and those experiencing direct, cultural and structural violence. I wept because I haven't been allowing myself to. I wept for all of the violence I have experienced in my own life. I am angered, saddened and enraged that the police in Jacksonville, Florida and other jurisdictions don't have policies in place to respect the gender identities of trans folks when they have been MURDERED. This misgendering and deadnaming also impedes the investigations into these murders. Injustice on top of injustice! I have been saying for years that misgendering a trans person is an act of violence. When I say that I am referring to cultural and structural violence. The police misgendering and deadnaming trans murder victims as a matter of policy feels like a really good example of that cultural and structural violence. Thank you ProPublica for this in depth report on this issue. Please read and share and join with local trans organizations demanding that police do better on this issue and many others. Link in bio and here: https://www.propublica.org/article/deadnamed-transgender-black-women-murders-jacksonville-police-investigation/amp?__twitter_impression=true

A post shared by laverne cox (@lavernecox) on Aug 13, 2018 at 9:03am PDT

Cox couldn’t stay silent on the topic. She took to social media to share her personal experience with deadnaming.

“Many years ago when I was contemplating suicide, I was planning to have a note in my pocket at the time of my death and several other notes in my home which would state my name, preferred gender pronouns and that I should be referred to as a woman in my death,” she wrote.

Cox first discussed her suicide attempt in 2014. “The suicide attempt happened when I was in sixth grade and I was having all these feelings about other boys. And I didn’t want to live,” she said in an ABC special. Last year she shared more details with Mic. “I had my own suicide attempt … when I was a young person because of shame, because of stigma, because I didn’t understand who I was.”

Today, she addressed the fact that she hasn’t spoken about violence against trans people in a while, and discussed why she felt a need to now. “I used to share a lot more on social media about the murders of trans folks. I don’t as much now because its retraumatizing for me to constantly live in this space of death, murder and the injustices that lead to these deaths.”

But she couldn’t stay silent about the facts brought up in this new report. “As I read this report from ProPublica I sobbed and wept for all the trans people who have been murdered and those experiencing direct, cultural and structural violence.”

She expressed her disappointment in the authorities, especially in Jacksonville. “I am angered, saddened and enraged that the police in Jacksonville, Florida and other jurisdictions don’t have policies in place to respect the gender identities of trans folks when they have been MURDERED. This misgendering and deadnaming also impedes the investigations into these murders.”

Cox is receiving a lot of love for her openness and for shedding light on this issue. The post has over 10K likes and over 200 praising comments, including one from her OITNB co-star Selenis Leyva, who wrote, “Sending you a hug sis! We can get so caught up in things and forget the road many like yourself had to walk to come up on the other side! May God continue blessing you. And to all our trans brothers and sisters we see you, we hear you , and you are not alone!!! #transisbeautiful.”

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