editorial

Rachel MorganPolice, Free Press show sensitivity in death of trans-woman

Divas B was only 28 when she disappeared on Oct. 1, 2004.  It's likely she died within hours of last being seen by her friends. Alone in the dark, unable to defend herself from her killer, one can only imagine her terror. A pair of hunters discovered her body near a rest stop on the Trans-Canada Highway just east of Portage la Prairie about a month after her disappearance. It took another six years, but in mid-July of this year, Mounties arrested and charged a suspect.

Police took a lot of heat for the length of time it took to lay charges. There was a perception among some people that they didn't care about Divas. Designated male at birth, she was transgender and earned her living the hard way on the streets of Winnipeg.  Too often, those who work the streets are considered disposable or somehow less worthy of the attention of the justice system.

Family and friends feared police would forget about Divas and no one would be brought to justice. But police didn't forget about Divas. Investigators with the Winnipeg Police Service and the RCMP quietly continued the search. Working together, they painstakingly gathered the evidence they needed to lay charges.

The years of uncertainty must have been unbearable for those who mourned Divas, but it would also have been a difficult time for the investigating officers. Divas was one of dozens of Manitoba women who were murdered or went missing in the past decade. Most of those cases remain unsolved and police became a lightning rod for much of the pent up anger from the justifiably frustrated relatives and friends. While they were being criticized over the years, police couldn't talk about the steps they were taking to solve the crimes. That's the nature of police work.

The arrest of a 40-year-old suspect came as a relief to everyone who knew Divas. And although the case has yet to go to court, police deserve praise for their dedication and persistence in making the arrest.  It speaks to their professionalism. But more importantly it shows that Divas was not a disposable human being. Her life mattered as much as anyone's.  That's an incredibly important message.

The Winnipeg Free Press, which has been criticized over the years for its coverage of the murdered and missing women, also deserves praise for its handling of the Divas B case. In particular, reporter Gabrielle Giroday treated Divas with great respect in her story on the arrest.  While some media outlets referred to Divas as "he", Giroday used the pronoun "she", as Divas would have wanted.  

That's not a little thing. Trans-people don't define themselves by the sex and name listed on their birth records. Divas may have been designated male, but she was female in her soul. That's an incredibly important distinction. It's a distinction that Giroday and the editors at the Free Press recognized and honoured.  Good for them.

– Rachel Morgan is editor of Outwords. To comment on this or any other article in Outwords write to letters@outwords.ca