At the end of a recent story I read, I was introduced to the abbreviation TWOC and didn't know what it was. Using Google, the results came up as Taking Without Owner's Consent. But that didn't match the story I was reading or did it?
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Authorities are investigating the death of a transgender woman who died after being run over several times in northeast Kansas City.
The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/1PkZKn8) reports that 36-year-old Tamara Dominquez was injured early Saturday and died at a hospital.
Officers who responded to a report of an injured pedestrian found the victim unresponsive in a parking lot. A witness told officers that the victim got out of the vehicle before the vehicle's driver struck and ran over the victim several times.
Her boyfriend, Rene Antonio Alas, said Dominquez was a native of Veracruz, Mexico, and came to the United States to escape discrimination against transgender individuals.
Investigators haven't determined whether the death represents a hate crime. Police initially identified the victim as Jesus E. Dominguez. – www.bnd.com
This time TWOC meant Transgender Woman Of Color. I had just posted a story on Sunday about "us-transgender-deaths-2015-reaches-at-least-sixteen" I was thinking, it couldn't be another case; this #TWOC was just more information on the same incident, but it was not. This Transgender Woman Of Color, Tamara Dominguez, was Taken Without "Our" Consent on Saturday, bringing the national total to 17 this year.
Dominquez, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, lived her life in the United States as a woman after arriving seven years ago, the boyfriend said Tuesday.
“No one knew her as a man,” said the boyfriend, who spoke through an interpreter. “She was going to change her name. Her driver’s license indicated that she was a male, but she lived her life completely as a female.
Although Dominquez underwent gender reassignment surgery, immigration officials identified her as a man, the boyfriend said. She was a legal resident, he said, and was in the process of changing her name to reflect her female gender. – www.kansascity.com
And I will raise this point again, even though we know of 17 TWOC being taken without our consent, how many do we not know of? How many are still documented and identified by police as males. How many do not live in a state where hate crimes are law? We see the number 17, but most likely and unfortunately, that number is much much larger.
The passing of Tamara Dominguez was even mentioned in Cosmo.
