UK: Vandalised transgender memorial restored

A vandalised memorial to remember victims of transphobic hate crime has now been restored in Manchester.

The National Transgender Memorial, located in the city’s Sackville Gardens, was unveiled as part of the Sparkle weekend, a national transgender celebration, in August last year.

However, after dedicated volunteers had put hours of work into the garden, it was vandalised by unknown assailants just days after it was unveiled.

According to the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF), the memorial has now been restored thanks to SOCA funding secured by the City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT).

Tony Cooper, Chair of The Friends of Sackville Gardens, said: “We worked closely with the Trans community to create a lasting memorial to those who have died because of prejudice and hate, and to then see that memorial vandalised within days was a true reflection of what many Trans people have to go through in daily life.

“GMP attended very quickly and we all tried hard to find the culprits, but to no avail. We are therefore grateful for the police donation to restore the damaged plaques, so that the memorial can look its best for ‘Sparkle’, the national transgender weekend in July.”

• Dec 01 2023

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