violence

In 128 cities in 17 countries last week, people gathered to remember transgender victims of violence. This year alone, more than 160 transgender people have been murdered - and that's just the ones we know of. Barack Obama recently signed into law the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which includes gender identity in its protections. But a national employment non-discrimination act still lags behind, and the hate crimes bill was too late for 21-year-old Tyli'a Mack, stabbed in the streets of Washington, D.C.

Esmeralda came to the U.S. seeking asylum from her native Mexico. She tried twice to enter the country legally, each time forced into detention. As a transgender woman, she was segregated and subjected to abuse from guards on her first attempt, and when she tried again, she was held with male detainees. Eventually, her claim was successful and today she works as an advocate for others who have survived sexual violence. In this video from Breakthrough, she tells her story of speaking out against abuse.

It's a heartwrenching story: more than five million dead, and rape is used to terrorize the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where spillover from the Rwandan conflict has led to the ongoing violence of daily life despite an official ceasefire. And minerals like coltan, used in your laptop or cell phone as well as aerospace technologies, are funding the violence. We all use cell phones and computers, but what can we do to stop supporting the horrific abuse of women and children in the Congo?