Transgender Day of Remembrance began in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender activist who organised a vigil to honour the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil was dedicated to all transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death. This began an important movement that is now known as the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The PDA has its own LGBT+ Network which was launched in 2020 and supports pharmacists from the LGBT+ community to feel supported and not isolated when at work. Their mission is to enable all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender pharmacists to realise their full potential and raise their profile by being educationally, socially, and politically active.
The LGBT+ Network provides a structure through which members can work together to proactively address and campaign around sexual orientation and transgender discrimination and its causes and consequences.
There are resources available on the PDA website which can help to educate others about the LGBT+ community such as pronoun badges. The badges support pharmacists to have conversations with colleagues, patients, family, and friends to make them aware of their gender identity and also to help those who are struggling with gender identity and can receive the healthcare they need.
If you would like to participate in Transgender Day of Remembrance, you can by organising or attending a vigil on 20 November to honour transgender people whose lives have been lost and learn about issues affecting the LGBT+ community.
Learn more
- Transgender Day of Remembrance Event 2022
- About the PDA LGBT+ Network
- PDA LGBT+ Network pronoun badges and flyers
Get involved
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.