Caitlyn Jenner calls for transgender people to be shown respect as she moves crowd to tears with acceptance speech
A tearful Caitlyn Jenner was given a standing ovation after she called for the acceptance of trans people at an awards ceremony last night.
As her family - including daughters Kendall and Kylie Jenner and stepdaughters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian - watched on, Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at ESPN's annual ESPYs ceremony, which celebrates excellence in sport.
The Olympic gold medallist - who shared her name and appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair in early June - was making her first major public appearance as a woman.
"Trans people deserve something vital - they deserve your respect," the 65-year-old told audience members in Los Angeles.
"From that respect comes a more compassionate community, a more empathetic society and a better world for all of us."
Paying tribute to her family, an emotional Jenner said: "My biggest fear I had coming out was that I never wanted to hurt anyone else - most of all my family and my kids.
"I always wanted my children to be so proud of their dad for what he was able to accomplish in his life.
"You guys have given so much back to me, you've given me so much support - I am so, so grateful to have all of you in my life. Thank you."
Jenner said her journey had been "frightening" and vowed to use her profile to "reshape the landscape" for trans people, who she said suffer bullying and violence.
She referred to the recent deaths of two young trans people, one who had been murdered and one who had committed suicide.
"Every time something like this happens people wonder could it have been different if spotlighting this issue with more attention could have changed the way things happened.
"We will never know but if there is one thing I do know about my life it is the power of the spotlight. Sometimes it gets overwhelming but with attention comes responsibility.
"The real truth is that before a couple of months ago I had never met anybody else who was trans, who was like me. I had never met a trans person. I dealt with my situation on my own, in private, and that this turned this journey into an already incredible education, it's been eye-opening, inspiring but also frightening."
Jenner will star in an E! documentary this July documenting her new life as a woman.