Remembering Our Dead

TDoR 2019 / 2019 / September / 09 / Lara Crespo

Lara Crespo

Age 48 (born 16 Jun 1971)

9 Sep 2019
Almada, Lisboa (Portugal)
Suicide

Lara died by suicide. She was the co-founder of Transexual Portugal and an organiser of Lisbon Pride.

Damn Lara, why do the best always go early? I remember early 2006, we met because of Gisberta...

"Why the hell can't we save our people?" - a phrase that has been haunting me for years. And now even more.

I'll remember you forever.

Her loss leaves us all so very much poorer.

Lara Crespo, a pioneer activist for the rights of transgender people in Portugal, was found lifeless Monday, September 9th. She was co-founder of Transexual Portugal Group and organizer of the LGBTI Pride March in Lisbon.

"And 20 years later, not much has changed, but something has changed. I am proud to have been present and part of some changes, but it is not enough. More needs to be done and that is why I am now struggling: for the depathologization of transsexuality and transgender identities, and for a true Gender Identity Law, in which we have full rights over our true identity and body." - Lara Crespo, October 2016

Like Lara Crespo, we also have the notion of the way to go, in terms of homophobic and transphobic social representations. Therefore, continued awareness-raising work is needed to defend LGBTI rights and fight against discrimination, based on prejudice, fear and ignorance, which prevent the desired change of mindset.

These are changes that are within our reach and which we believe are decisive: breaking resistance, rejecting hate speech, defending the universal right to be and to live in equality.

As well as co-founding Transexual Portugal, Lara was a regular contributor to the Notícias Trans/Transgender news Facebook group. In 2015 she and her co-founder Eduarda were interviewed for Arquivo Queer: