In the face of\nthe of the recent crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the International\nInstitute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) reminds States\nof the importance of safeguarding the health of the entire population\nregardless of sexual orientation or gender identity; Public policies that\nencompass the crisis must be thought of from intersectional approaches that\naddress gender and human rights perspectives.<\/p>\n\n
Race and Equality\nwarns about the differential impact on rights that crises like these can have\non historically marginalized and socially vulnerable populations such as LGBTI\npeople. \u201cThe social reality of LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean\nis characterized by precarious access to health services, education, work and\ncomprehensive well-being, realities that must be considered by the States when\ndesigning virus containment strategies,\u201d says Zuleika Rivera, LGBTI Program\nOfficer at Race and Equality.<\/p>\n\n
\u00abThe state\nof alert starts precisely because, although these measures affect the entire\nsocial group, those who have always lived in a state of vulnerability, tend to\nbe mostly affected. For example, trans women sex workers are very affected by\nthe strategies that are being used so far, especially because in order to eat\nand pay rent in the place where they live, they must work, which not only puts\nthem at risk, but a whole social group in imminent risk, \u201d she continues.<\/p>\n\n
The situation\nin Latin America<\/strong><\/p>\n\n LGBTI civil\nsociety organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean expressed to us their\nconcern about the containment strategies used by States without taking into\naccount differential and rights-based approaches.<\/p>\n\n In Peru, for\nexample, they have expressed concern about the impacts of the measures taken so\nfar by the State to prevent the spread of the virus. \u00a0These strategies impact LGBT people who mostly\nlive from informal work, as is the case of the trans population. In addition,\nthe self-financing of trans and LGBTI foster homes is in danger.\u00a0 \u201cIf the LGBTI population has to continue\nworking or needs treatment for HIV \/ AIDS, how are they going to mobilize? Or\nif someone gets sick who guarantees that they will not be discriminated against\nbecause of their sexual orientation or gender identity? \u201d added Santiago\nBalv\u00edn, an independent trans rights activist.<\/p>\n\n On the other\nhand, Peruvian LGBTI organizations have shown concern about the actions of\nCongress and what that may mean for LGBTI rights in the country, since it is a\ntime when the rights of said population could be limited.<\/p>\n\n In the Dominican\nRepublic, the trans organization TRANSSA has expressed uncertainty because the\nState has not declared a national emergency, which puts the lives of many\npeople in the country at risk, including LGBTI people. Likewise, they pointed\nout that the LGBTI population with informal or independent work will be the\nmost affected if a curfew or a national quarantine is decreed, then highlighting\nthe state of collective panic over the disinformation in the networks about\nCOVID-19. They also have shown concern about access to health for the\npopulation with HIV \/ AIDS.<\/p>\n\n In Brazil, many\nof the same worries were expressed by civil society organizations who explain\nthat the State has not taken any serious action to prevent the spread of the\nvirus and has not recommended or imposed any type of quarantine.<\/p>\n\n Given racial\ninequality within the country, the Afro-descendant population can suffer more\nserious impacts in relation to COVID-19, since they live in situations of great\nprecariousness and are the most dependent on the health system. Many of these\npopulations live in favelas, removed from their homes, without access to water\nor health, or are sex workers. Some communities have been without clean water\nor basic sanitation for weeks. \u201cMental health is another serious concern as\nmany struggle with anxiety or depression or have a higher tendency to develop\nanxiety or depression, and given all the information on social media, it could\nlead to an increase in episodes of mental health, not to mention the\ndetrimental effects of isolation and confinement \u201dpointed out, among other\nthings, Bruna Benavides, secretary of the political coordination of the\nNational Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, ANTRA.<\/p>\n\n Some local\norganizations, such as ANTRA, have published recommendations for trans people who\nwork in the informal labor market at the following link:\nhttps:\/\/antrabrasil.org\/cartilhas\/<\/p>\n\n In the case of\nColombia, the exponential growth of the confirmed cases of people carrying\nCOVID-19 is worrisome.[1]<\/a>\nAlthough the National Government has enacted measures related to the closure of\nmaritime and ground borders, and has promoted measures for education and work\nfrom homes to promote isolation, the lack of social and economic measures that\ntake into account the conditions =of the most marginalized and vulnerable\npopulation is still troublesome.<\/p>\n\n In Cuba,\nuncertainty regarding the actions that the government may take continues. \u00a0To date, no state of emergency or quarantine\nhas been declared. Citizens are concerned that the government is not taking\ndrastic measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and that there is no focus\non self-responsibility and self-care about preventive measures that citizens\ncan take.<\/p>\n\n Recommendations\nto States<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Race and Equality\nand our counterparts call on the States of the region, and in accordance with\nthe curfew measures that have been declared in some areas of the region,\nrequest the surveillance and protection of the human rights of those who could\nbe most affected by these events that could affect their lives and personal\nintegrity.<\/p>\n\n Likewise, we urge\nstates to include LGBTI populations in their national plans to combat COVID-19\ntaking into account the differential impact of the crisis and to continue\ninforming the population about the progression of the virus, as well as the\nservices available for this population\u2019s particular needs.<\/p>\n\n We call on States\nto protect the economic income of the poorest households[2]<\/a>\nand those unable to telework; measures that allow the flexibility of payments\nof bank and financial obligations; policies that guarantee adequate treatment\nand protection for people over 60 years of age, especially those belonging to\nthe LGBTI[3]<\/a>\nsectors, and measures that ensure access to sanitary conditions to prevent the\nspread of the virus, such as access to public toilets, especially for migrants,\nsex workers, the homeless, and imprisoned people[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Additionally, we\ncall on States not to use the health crisis to implement legislation that\nlimits or presents setbacks in the area of \u200b\u200bhuman and LGBTI rights.<\/p>\n\n We call on the\nLGBTI population to follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and\nthe WHO, remain calm, and apply preventive measures. [1]<\/a> As of March 19, 2020, at 12:00 noon, 93\ncases of people carrying COVID-19 have been registered, according to figures\nfrom the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n\n [2]<\/a> LGBT people often face poverty, social\nexclusion, and lack of access to housing. LGBT people are often expelled from\ntheir families and schools, and in some cases they cannot even get jobs that\npay the minimum wage. This situation could push them towards the informal\neconomy or criminal activity.<\/p>\n\n [3]<\/a> The\nlack of family support and social rejection accentuate the conditions of\nloneliness, isolation, poverty, and lack of access to housing and health\nservices for LGBTI elders.<\/p>\n\n [4]<\/a> \u00abInmates\nof La Picota protest against measures against the coronavirus (Covid-19)\u00bb https:\/\/www.wradio.com.co\/noticias\/bogota\/internos-de-la-picota-protestan-por-medidas-contra-el-coronavirus-covid19\/20200318\/nota\/4023683.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the face of the of the recent crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) reminds States of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10169,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[1130,1172,1183,1163],"resources_country":[],"resources_language":[],"resources_audience":[],"resources_format":[],"resources_topic":[1104,1109],"resources_year":[],"class_list":["post-12844","resources","type-resources","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-lgbti","category-lgbti-blog","category-regional","resources_topic-lgbti-es","resources_topic-raza-e-igualdad"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/12844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"resources_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources_country?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"resources_language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources_language?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"resources_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources_audience?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"resources_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources_format?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"resources_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources_topic?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"resources_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raceandequality.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources_year?post=12844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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