{"id":12619,"date":"2019-11-15T13:48:10","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T13:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/race01.wp\/resources\/la-situacion-de-violencia-contra-personas-afro-lgbti-es-invisibilizada-y-sistematica-en-america-latina-alertan-activistas-ante-la-cidh\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T13:03:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T13:03:04","slug":"la-situacion-de-violencia-contra-personas-afro-lgbti-es-invisibilizada-y-sistematica-en-america-latina-alertan-activistas-ante-la-cidh","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/resources\/la-situacion-de-violencia-contra-personas-afro-lgbti-es-invisibilizada-y-sistematica-en-america-latina-alertan-activistas-ante-la-cidh\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abLa situaci\u00f3n de violencia contra personas Afro-LGBTI es invisibilizada y sistem\u00e1tica en Am\u00e9rica Latina\u00bb alertan activistas ante la CIDH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Quito,\nEcuador. November 12, 2019.<\/em> In the thematic hearing held during the 174 period of Hearings of the\nInter-American Commission on Human Rights in Quito, Ecuador, LGBTI activists\nand Afro-descendants from Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Peru\npresented on the situation of violence, lack of protection, and lack of\nknowledge of their prevailing rights in each of these States.<\/p>\n\n

Throughout the\nspace, the activists highlighted how Afro-descendants with sexual orientations\nand non-normative gender identities are at greater risk of suffering from violations\nof their rights, especially by the States\u2019 general lack of knowledge on the\ndifferentiated effects suffered by people living this reality. <\/p>\n\n

Likewise, the activists presented a summary of different cases of murder and violence against transgender people and Afro-descendants, especially those committed with a high degree of cruelty and hatred; in addition to remaining completely unpunished.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

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Bruna Benavides, ANTRA activist<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

\u00abIn\nJanuary of this year, in Brazil, a trans woman had her heart torn out and then replaced\nby the image of a saint. Her murderer was acquitted of the charge, even though\nhe narrated in great detail how he had killed her and kept her heart at home\nwith a smile on his face,\u00bb said Afro-Brazilian activist Bruna Benavides, a\nmember of the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, or ANTRA in\nBrazil.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

According to\ninformation given by Benavides, this year alone, 110 trans people were killed\nin Brazil, 85% of them black. Likewise, the activist reported that 90% of the\npopulation of transvestites and trans women in this country are engaged in\nprostitution due to the lack of job opportunities.<\/p>\n\n

Furthermore, she\npointed out that this group of people are recurring victims of different State\ninstitutions due to the inaccessibility of appropriate healthcare services and\nof fair employment opportunities and recognition, as well as having a lack of respect\nfor their identities. In this regard, Benavides added ,\u00ab… today we\nare afraid to walk the streets again, and as a defender of human rights, I do\nnot feel safe despite the progress we have made because our leaders have common\npolicies of racist hatred , male chauvinism…\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In this order, the leader Justo Arevalo representative of the Colombian organizations Arco Iris de Tumaco, the National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations (CNOA), and Somos Identidad, highlighted that contexts of rejection, violence, and discrimination within these communities towards people who assume a non-normative sexual orientation or gender identity create other types of cyclical and systemic violence that threaten the integrity of AfroLGBTI people. An example of this is in Colombia, where there is forced displacement towards cities that sharpen the circles of violence in which these people live.<\/p>\n\n

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Justo Arevalo, Colombian activist<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

\u00abIn March\nof 2019, a report on the realities experienced by Afro-LGBTI people was filed\nin Bogot\u00e1 before the Jurisdiction for Peace, whose main findings show that\ndocumented violence and impact are blocked by very racial and class-particular\nrelations, typical of the sociocultural, economic, and political environment in\nwhich they occur, prejudice as a factor of violence, and the responsibility of\nillegal armed actors in the face of serious violations of rights against Afro LGBT\npeople,<\/em> \u00abArevalo\nadded in his speech.<\/p>\n\n

Bel\u00e9n Zapata, an\nAfro-descendant trans activist from Peru, alerted the audience of the impact\nthat police abuse has on the lives of Afro-descendant and transvestite people,\nhighlighting that it sets a pattern of deep violence against their right to\npersonal integrity in countries like Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican\nRepublic, and Peru.<\/p>\n\n

Likewise, the\nactivist referred to the access of healthcare services by trans-descendant\nAfro-descendant women in the region, which is characterized in its generality\nfor not being efficient or worthy of use by this population.<\/p>\n\n

In this regard,\nthe activist added: \u00abThere are still cases in which medical personnel\noffer inadequate and\/or improper care to Afro-descendant transgender women.\nThis pattern is particularly serious in cases of care for Afro-descendant\ntransgender women who perform sex work and are taken in for injuries as a\nresult of physical aggressions. But also, in cases where the request for other\nservices is related to reproductive health or HIV \/ AIDS. \u00ab<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Violation of\nthe rights of Afro-LGBTI people is systematic<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

\u00abAs long\nas we avoid highlighting the intersection between race and sexual diversity, we\nwill continue to perpetuate a system that makes the Afro-descendant LGBTI\ncommunity invisible; we will continue to have legal structures, public policies,\nand government institutions that do not protect or guarantee the human rights\nof the Afro LGBTI population,\u00bb<\/em> added Katherine Ventura, representative of the American University Legal\nClinic. She also pointed out that there are patterns of violence that are\nparticular to the Afro-LGBTI population, naming three: 1) Absence of rights\u2019\nguarantees focused on the Afro-LGBTI community; 2) Lack of implementation of\nexisting laws and 3) Inadequate data collection, particularly in criminal\ninvestigation processes against Afro-LGBTI people.<\/p>\n\n

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