Activists in at least a dozen British cities have planned vigils for the coming days, including in Liverpool and Bristol on Tuesday, and later in Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Aberdeen, Reading, Plymouth, Brighton, Belfast, London, and York, according to UK media.
Ghey was found with stab wounds on Saturday in Linear Park in Culcheth, Cheshire, a suburb of Manchester, and died of her wounds. Police have arrested a boy and a girl, both 15, on suspicion of Ghey’s murder, but have not yet found a murder weapon or stated a specific motive for the act.
Ghey had long been a victim of bullying at her school for her gender identity, which she documented on her TikTok account. In the days before her death, Ghey said she “got excluded from school.” Her friends told local media much the same, saying she had been beaten by gangs at her school and that her death was connected to the bullying and to her identity.
“She said she was devastated by the constant abuse and even talked of ending it all. It was down to her being trans. It is disgusting what happened,” one of Ghey’s friends said. “Let’s be frank, she was bullied because of her sexuality. Of course this is a hate crime.”
In a statement following her death, Ghey’s family described her as “a much loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister. She was a larger than life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her. Brianna was beautiful, witty and hilarious. Brianna was strong, fearless and one of a kind.”
The British media has been in a frenzy in recent months over trans rights as a showdown has unfolded between the British government in London and the devolved Scottish government in Edinburgh, at the center of which is Scotland’s claimed right to amend a gender recognition law. Opponents have in particular objected to the housing of trans women in women’s prisons, accusing them of being rapists.
In particular, activists have noted that because the UK doesn’t allow trans people to self-identify on public documents, Ghey’s tombstone will be forced to bear her “deadname,” or the birth name she no longer uses. Stating a trans person’s deadname is considered deeply insulting and delegitimizing.
The Times aroused fury in its report on Ghey’s death when, after initially referring to her as a “transgender girl,” the London paper scrubbed the story of all references to Ghey being a girl, changed its description of her to “transgender teenager,” and added her “deadname” to the story. Following backlash, the Times restored its original wording.
Transgender activists and their supporters slammed anti-trans groups in the wake of Ghey’s murder, saying their efforts to demonize and alienate trans people, especially trans women and girls, had helped cause Ghey’s death.
“Whatever the specific circumstances leading to Brianna Ghey’s death, we are currently living through a period of unprecedented moral repugnance towards trans people, largely channelled through a compliant media which shows less and less respect for trans peoples’ lives and humanity,” said Trans Safety Network, a grassroots support group.
“We have seen how even in death, the press has chosen to compound this harm by publicly disrespecting Brianna’s identity until public outcry forced them to reconsider,” they added. “It shouldn’t take a public show of grief to value the lives of trans children, and her life should have been valued enough to not have been taken in the first place.”