A candle-lit vigil is to take place in Sheffield tonight to remember the life of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey who tragically died at the weekend.
The teenager was fatally stabbed in Culcheth, Cheshire on Saturday. Her death has sparked nationwide sadness, with people all across the UK coming together to mourn and stand in solidarity with the transgender community.
Vigils have already been held in cities up and down the country, including Manchester, Liverpool and London, with the people of Sheffield due to turn out and show their support tonight.
The vigil is due to take place in the Peace Gardens in the city centre at 8pm and will also be live-streamed from Sheffield Solidarity Group’s Instagram page @sheffsolgroup, so those who can’t attend in person can still pay their respects.
In relation to Brianna’s death, police say they are pursuing all lines of enquiry, including the possibility that the attack was a hate crime.
Currently, a boy and a girl, both 15, have been charged with murder and have appeared at Liverpool Crown Court. A provisional court date has been set for July.
Brianna’s family have paid tribute to the “much loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister” and said her loss has left a “massive hole”.
Finn Birchen, 20, a social sciences student in Sheffield who is part of the group who have organised tonight’s vigil, is encouraging as many people as possible to come, light a candle and show their support.
They said: “We want to make it a space for the community to come together and to remember the life that Brianna lived and could have lived, and the life of all of those around us still living and the lives of other trans people we have lost along the way.
“None of us knew Brianna personally, but we all knew ourselves at that age, and we are all sat here thinking that could have been us.
“Remember that trans people are actually living this every single day, and that we aren’t just a political talking point but we actually have to face this in life.”
A spokesperson from Sheffield Solidarity Group said: “We are holding a vigil to show respect to a member of our community let down by our country, government and society at large that has let transphobes, homophobes and bigots organise to spread hatred and fear.
“While the police have not yet decided her murder a hate crime, the fact is that Brianna lived in a Britain where hate crimes of all types, especially transphobic hate crimes, have been massively on the rise for over a decade, unchallenged by many.”