COMMUNITY RESISTANCE: VIOLENCE AGAINST AFRO LGBTI INDIVIDUALS IN TUMACO

COMMUNITY RESISTANCE: VIOLENCE AGAINST AFRO LGBTI INDIVIDUALS IN TUMACO

Tumaco was in the news media last month due to an ongoing humanitarian crisis of widespread violence towards the civil population. The problems of Afro LGBTI individuals are not being taken into account by any specific State institution, but community initiatives struggle to change this reality.

A HISTORICALLY DISPUTED PLACE

Tumaco is a municipality that has historically faced many challenges, such as a high presence of armed actors as a consequence of trade in illicit drugs as well as having the highest illegal growing areas for coca leaf, ascending to 19.000 hectares in 2018.

The civilian population continues to be the principal victim of attacks by armed actors throughout the region. Violence intensifies for Afro LGBTI people, who are constantly discriminated against by their families, within their close social circles, and by State institutions.

Tumaco is living a political crisis which is not being duly reported on by the national news media. Tumaco’s elected mayor is currently detained awaiting trial because he is accused of committing a series of crimes associated with the diversion of millions of Colombian pesos of public funds. In consequence, there the citizens have no confidence in the most important local state institution (the Mayor’s Office). This situation decreases the population’s sense of presence of adequate state institutions, and spreads violence by promoting spaces in which armed forces can feel safer to commit violent acts without sanction.

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG: THE SITUATION OF AFRO LGBTI INDIVIDUALS

Afro-LGBTI individuals are currently suffering from human rights violations, but they are also a part of a group that has been historically discriminated against. The intersection between past and present violations is important to discuss. Afro-Colombian communities have been relegated to inhabit the country’s geographic periphery and live in conditions of extreme poverty. This is a result of racism that is not being talked about.

The mere existence of Afro LGBTI people in the region bothers sectors of armed groups because of prejudices associating them with crime, poverty, and disease, among other biases. Afro LGBTI individuals are submitted to crude forms of violence, including threats, torture, and even homicides, either at home, on the streets, or in institutional spaces.

On top of that, these prejudiced beliefs  are shared by other members of their own community. Thus, there are not many ways in which the community can understand how victims of prejudice-based violence face specific daily struggles. This demonstrates the need for more work on informing people about the respect of all forms of diversity in their own communities, so that everyone can begin to speak about how they live their own dynamics of violence in safe spaces.

In Tumaco, LGBTI people are potential victims of typical violence due to the armed conflict, but also due to prejudice-based violence. In addition, state institutions do not have specific details of violence forced upon LGBTI people in the context of the armed conflict because victims do not tend to denounce those crimes to the police or the Prosecutor’s Office. This happens in most cases because there is a persistent fear of new threats or violence if they report the crimes. According to Nixon Ortiz, Executive Director of ‘Fundación Afrocolombiana Arcoiris de Tumaco,’ in the context of Colombia’s armed conflict, the Afro LGBTI population faces serious situations of forced displacement. These cases are not being fully denounced to the authorities “because of fear, so the population has not yet been able to tell their whole truth.” The zone is still living in violence, but the violent practices are different. Nixon describes that, “before there was more noise, now [violence] is committed more silently.” This means that previously, the violence predominately took the form of physical aggressions, but now there are more cases of private threats. This worries him and his concern is understandable. In “noisy” cases, the institutional and social responses have not been adequate. Now, in this context of subtle demonstrations of violence, sources of help will be even weaker.

There are no signs of a prompt solution to the current situation of violence. Nixon describes how the path of progress in the eradication of violence is difficult in a country as collapsed and as polarized as Colombia, with a government that is not capable of responding to victims’ needs to access human rights and dignified living conditions. In addition, many of the people in power in state institutions have radical, anti-LGBTI beliefs and have no motivation to improve the quality of life of this population.

Nixon stresses that violence is suffered in remote areas of Colombia, but civil society is working to change this situation. According to Nixon, the Afro-LGBTI civil society in these areas is working on initiatives to defend their human rights. These initiatives reclaim music, poetry, and chants from the cultural heritage of the Afro-Colombian population. These projects are important because LGBTI people’s Afro culture and social customs were taken away from them because of violence and forced displacement. In order to encourage these initiatives and turn them into successful policies at the state level, Nixon stresses that it is necessary for the State to “sit down and talk with the local population,” because he believes that social change has to begin with strengthening those initiatives formed in remote areas with their own cultural approaches.

“TODAY, THERE ARE MORE OF US”: LOCAL RESPONSES

Community initiatives like that of Arcoiris must be made visible to the state institutions in Colombia that have the duty to protect civil society. Community projects’ activities are focused on documenting needs that are not met by the state. The projects seek to use this data to have a better idea about where to begin focusing their efforts. In addition, these initiatives include community social activities that can begin to eliminate social prejudices and build forms of reconciliation and true peacemaking. This is currently happening in Tumaco with the Afro LGBTI initiative of Arcoiris, which creates spaces inside the municipality where people can learn about diversity and begin to make consensus between them, setting their prejudices aside. Highlighting those initiatives –and even more important, guaranteeing safety for those who participate in them- may be a significant source of knowledge for the state to create better strategies to improve the quality of life of those who live in Colombia’s remote areas.

For Nixon, base organizations help to strengthen social relationships, because they provide important education to the people of the region about social diversity and they always seek to highlight the importance of diverse societies that recognize their own Afro experience. Therefore, he proposes that the State give more attention to local community projects, providing them with strategic help beyond mere financial aid, such as different forms of mentoring or technical training.

Arcoiris also works with the local government because of its presence in their territory. Thus, they have been working with the Secretary of Government, the Secretary of Gender Issues of Tumaco, and the Department of Nariño. Significantly, Arcoiris members have brought attention to the LGBTI population in Tumaco and they have achieved local, national and international recognition for their work. They have also been able to teach LGBTI individuals about their own rights. In this way, Nixon comments how “when we started, there were few of us; today there are many more of us.”

Arcoiris proves how people who are discriminated against because of their gender expression, sexual orientation, or race can decide to unite, break the silence surrounding the violence exerted on their bodies, and propose solutions through community action by working on events, forums, social activities, and proposing alternatives of public policy to their local authorities. This community project identifies problems that were not visible by working directly with people and asking them about situations that are being currently unattended by the state, and that have not been brought to the attention of state institutions or even among the general society. At the same time, these initiatives generate bonds of affection and support between individuals who are victims of prejudice-based violence in the territories.

LGBTI IN TUMACO’S AGENDA

The community project of Arcoiris is based on respecting the differences of race, gender expression, and identity among individuals, but it also seeks to reject unnecessary divisions. Arcoiris wants to unite the LGBTI population across the region, while bringing attention to the particular issues faced by the Afro-LGBTI population. Their commitment extends beyond holding one-off events, but rather to also develop deeper relationships in order to “collectively look at the needs of the territory in order to move forward.” The example of Arcoiris demonstrates why attention must be focused on the protection of this community leaderships as well as projects that are working to improve living conditions, so that all individuals can feel like a part of their community as equals. This is especially true for Afro LGBTI people, who have been victims of discrimination and violence, as mentioned before.

Having the presence of state agencies in the region is not enough to achieve equality. The presence of institutions that guarantee dignified living conditions is a duty of the state, and in Tumaco, these services have historically not been provided. However, social equality also begins with changing the way in which we define how communities work, including the importance of respecting all forms of sexuality, gender identity, and diversity in general. Local initiatives are working in order to teach people within their municipalities or communities about this idea of diversity. Projects focused on making activities that build a society that includes all people in Colombia on the basis of real equality can help us to construct a nation at peace when it is most needed. Local initiatives that spread this idea of a better society have to be made visible and protected by the State so that everyone can reconstruct a country that has been excessively burdened by a form of violence towards individuals that is clearly racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic, and that seeks to perpetuate all kinds of oppression structures.

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About the autor

Cristina Annear
Junior Lawyer for Colombia at Race and Equality

 

Race and Equality Calls for Peace, Justice and Democracy for Venezuela

Colombia, 1st May 2019 – On April 30th, the interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, called on the Venezuelan population to join “Operation Freedom”, a massive demonstration to usher in what he himself describes as the “beginning of the end of the usurpation” of the Nicolás Maduro regime. Along with Guaidó, who issued the call in the early hours of the morning from the military base La Carlota in Caracas, was also the opposition figure Leopoldo López, who until yesterday was a political prisoner, and was freed from house arrest by defecting soldiers. The Maduro regime has described these actions as an attempted coup d’état.

In spite of this, the Venezuelan people took to the streets to demand the military forces to join them on the call for justice and freedom. However, the Police and National Guard, who are still allied to the Maduro regime, suppressed demonstrators of several cities by running over them, by using tear gas and rubber bullets, leaving dozens of people injured.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) strongly condemns the violence and repression carried out by Venezuelan authorities against the people who demand justice, democracy and freedom through their legitimate right to protest. We urge the Venezuelan State to put an end to the violence, to guarantee peace and the right to life, freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the personal integrity of the demonstrators who today call for democracy through the constitutional path.

We urgently call on the international community to continue speaking in the face of the serious human rights crisis that Venezuela is going through, which has left more than three million people displaced to different countries in the region, as reported by UNHCR Americas, as well as serious attacks to the fundamental rights of the people who continue to demand their freedom.

Race and Equality Recognizing the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Message from Carlos Quesada – Executive Director Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

Today, March 21st, we again commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In observing what is happening in the world and in our continent, I can only think about how discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance are gaining ground. They are highly present in the media, in politics, in our societies and in our daily lives. Fighting for the elimination of all forms of discrimination, xenophobia, homophobia, and intolerance is one of the fundamental pillars to promote social cohesion, the right to live, and diversity.

I want to call attention to the fact that in our continent, only three countries have ratified the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Intolerance: Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Antigua and Barbuda. It is imperative that the rest of the States in the region truly assume the commitment to combat, punish, and eliminate this scourge that eats away at our societies. We urge States to sign and ratify this important Inter-American instrument, especially as a part of the Action Plans they should develop during the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 – 2024).

We cannot allow Afro-descendants in the Americas to continue being the most marginalized populations and the most affected by the structural racism that is reflected in few state investments, high rates of illiteracy, under-representation in decision-making bodies, and under-representation within the system of administration of justice. Young Afro-descendants continue to be victims of racial profiling and police brutality. Afro-descendant women continue to have little access to health and education, which perpetuates high levels of poverty.

States are preparing to begin a new census round (2020) where we hope not only to have quanitifiable data on how many Afro-descendants there are, but also on the socioeconomic conditions of these populations. States must use this data to make a better use of their resources and invest in the most impoverished areas, which coincide with the areas in which Afro-descendants live.

In this second decade of the 21st century, it has become clear that Afro-descendants, thanks to their resilience, expect more than good intentions: they expect real structural changes. More Afro-descendant academics, politicians, professionals, and businesspeople have demonstrated not only the contributions they have made to their countries, but also that they are part of, have built, and will continue to build the identities of the countries where they live, from Canada to Argentina. This is true whether they are called black, African-Americans, Afro-latinos, palenqueros, raizales, o pretos!

From Race and Equality, we will continue to make visible, combat, and denounce the scourge of racial discrimination and other related forms of intolerance together with our partners in the hemisphere, who with their experience and struggle have made progress at both the national and international level.

“The Bid for Peace Cannot Go Backward” – Pronouncement regarding the decision of the national government to oppose the Statutory Law on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia

Out of extreme concern for the recent objections presented by the President of the Republic of Colombia, Iván Duque, to the Constitutional Court with regard to the Statutory Law on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) issues a special call to the Congress of the Republic of Colombia to preserve what has been agreed to and guarantee the operations of the JEP, so as to ensure that the opposition of the national government does not represent an obstacle and ignorance regarding the decisions and progress made which in this commitment would guarantee truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence to the Colombian people, especially the victims involved.

A document filed with the Constitutional Court on Monday, March 11 of this year by President Iván Duque made official the declarations issued by the Colombian leader in which he warns about the need to object to six of the 149 articles comprising the Statutory Law on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).

Said objections not only represent a retreat in complying with the agreement for a stable and lasting peace and the international commitments the country presents today in this area, but rather, constitutes, in and of itself, grave consequences to the legal security of the more than 13,000 ex-combatants of the FARC-EP [and] members of the army and National Police who embraced the JEP and left their weapons behind after the signing of the peace accord, which would clearly indicate an uncertain process in contributing to the truth and the call to build peace that would involve millions of Colombians, above all, the more than 8,376,463 victims of the armed conflict reported by former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos last year.

We join our voice to that of Members of Congress, activists, human rights defenders, academics, and journalists to reiterate our concern to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterrez, regarding the attempts by the national government’s decision to harm and impede the implementation of the peace agreement, the structure and operations of the JEP as the administrator of the protocols comprising a transitional justice process, and the system designed to honor the rights of the victims.  “A goodly portion of the objections that have been put forward are aimed at not recognizing the decisions made by the Constitutional Court last year regarding this law.  In other words, turning to the figure of objection on forum non conveniens, the hope is to not recognize the ruling by which the Court declared constitutional some regulations of the law, under the condition that they would be interpreted in the manner indicated by the sentence itself,” not the defenders of the peace accord who are signatories of the letter.

We again call on the national government of Colombia, the Congress of the Republic, and all parties involved to continue taking a chance on the construction of a country in democracy, justice, and peace.  We urge the Colombian State to respect international agreements reached within the framework of this peace process, so that they will bring about all of the ways of guaranteeing respect for the fundamental rights of the people, especially of the victims of the conflict.  Lastly, we ask the international community to take a stance regarding this decision that represents a stalling of the peace process.  We furthermore urge the United Nations to include the incidents herein referenced in the next report of the UN Verification Mission to the Security Council.

“We lesbian, bisexual, and trans women are not only killed for being women, but also for having chosen to be women.” – Laura Weinstein

“There is no single way of being a woman; there are numerous ways.”

International Women’s Day represents an opportunity to continue defending the fight for recognition of women’s rights.  It is, however, also a space for calling on the Colombian society and State to recognize the diversity and multiplicity of the women who make up the social construct.  Race & Equality spoke with Laura Weinstein, a defender of the rights of trans persons in Colombia and Director of the Fundación Grupo de Apoyo a Personas Trans [Support Group Foundation for Trans Persons] (GAAT), who declares that in order to make progress in building an inclusive, equitable, democratic, and peaceful society, those diverse women who have to date been ‘invisibilized’ and doubly violated must be recognized.

What is the state of the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women in Colombia?

Although we have made important strides in the area of women’s rights, including Colombia’s diverse women, I believe it is not enough, especially because great progress is still needed in recognizing the existence of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women (LBT), not only because society still does not understand the experience of LBT women’s lives and identity, but also because it would appear that the rights we fight for are different from the rest of society, of persons who have access to various rights, and it’s not like that, which is exactly what places us in a different fighting spot.

I would say that the first thing we need to do is to make our society understand that we are not demanding different rights than those that exist which all of us should enjoy; we are not talking about a different type of rights, but rather, the same rights that precisely because of our sexual identity or orientation are denied us or in the majority of cases delimited.  [An example is] the case of trans women accessing their identity, the complications in receiving medical attention to ensure we are not violated, work, education, and many other social participation spaces that delimit us.  In the case of lesbian and bisexual women, there is even less understanding regarding their rights because the idea that these women are “confused” has held sway socially and that “sooner or later” it will be resolved – a situation that not only violates these women’s freedom, but also makes them utterly invisible.  In addition – and this must be said – trans women’s being women is questioned, that’s why they put us on a different level, as there are difficulties related to being women, but these women have other particularities and other needs, as it puts you in spaces that are a lot more complex.

The lack of recognition of the actual effects on women of diverse sexual and gender identities by the women’s movement throughout the region is still very obvious.  Can drawing attention to the importance of treating these effects experienced by LBTI women in a differentiated manner as a part of the struggle for and defense of women’s rights be considered discriminatory or exclusionary, or do you believe it is necessary to address it in a differentiated manner?

  I do indeed believe it is important to speak about them, speak about their effects and the way in which their rights should be guaranteed, because what is not named doesn’t exist.  And so, by not making them visible we are simply hiding a reality that needs to be counted.  We are additionally saying that nothing’s going on, that all of us are in the same situation, in the same place, and it’s not like that.  A cisgender heterosexual woman, for example, is killed for being a woman, a truly grave thing; but in the case of lesbian women or trans women, not only do they kill us for being women, but also for having decided to be women.  Becoming women puts us in a different place from that construction of being a woman, because let’s not forget that being a woman is not something you are born with but rather, is a construction based on the relationship of the other (males and females) that configures you, yourself.  Thus, I feel it is important to speak and talk about the needs that exist – in this case, of LBT women – though recognizing that in and of itself, deciding to be a woman already puts you in a different place than what is societally entailed by being a man or woman.

What are the principal violations committed against LBT women in Colombia?

GAAT’s work is concentrated on the trans population, though we must understand that we have a direct relationship of struggle with lesbian and bisexual women.  For example, in the latter case, the impacts are completely invisible because socially those women are unrecognized, it is as if they don’t exist; they are women who are commonly considered “confused” or “indecisive” and this clearly leads those women to question who they are, as if something were wrong with them, and, well, it shouldn’t be like that.  In the case of lesbian women, [what occurs are] systematic corrective violations of “what you need is a man” so that there will supposedly be a “rectification” of their sexual orientation and they can thus come to see what they are missing in their lives.

In the case of transsexual women, there is also the idea related to the negation of the privilege with which they are born, because of this, but when a person says “it’s just that this isn’t me,” “this is not what I want to experience or go through,” she has a death that is assumed as a betrayal, and the betrayal is paid for through the loss of life, but it’s not just that they kill you, but also the loss of access to all of the rights that any other person could have.  That’s the type of violence we experience and feel; but surely there are many other things, for example, the subjugation of trans women within the framework of the war, in that they are utilized as weapons of war and sexual weapons.  That is, they look like women and as such are showy, though they also have the strength of men and that is taken advantage of for the war.

What do GAAT and Laura Weinstein call on the Colombian State and society in general to do regarding the recognition of LBT women’s rights?

The call is to recognize the identities and great variety of we women who exist, and not only limit it to gender orientations and identities but rather, ensure that there is no single way of being female, that there be a multiplicity of ways of defining ourselves as women: Afro women, campesina women, [and] women who are heads of households are examples of this.  So I believe that it’s important that the Colombian society and State recognize the very important role played by these diverse women in this country’s progress, which the State has oftentimes ‘invisibilized.’

The same thing goes for society as well – it must truly provide space for women because women are the ones who have leant so much strength to this country and have demonstrated that we exist here and that we can live here, and that the role women play has been fundamental.

What strategies or mechanisms should the Colombian State or society put in place to recognize the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women?

 It’s important to recognize their existence, that’s where everything starts, recognizing that the Other exists, that the Other has a place in society, that regardless of who it is or how the person is, he/she deserves life.  I think that’s where we need to start.  We need to launch campaigns recognizing the existence of other identities, other ways of being, not like others describe them – as being “other women” – thereby implying that these women are “normal,” while those other women are “different.”  No – rather, we should be able to find the multiplicity of what it means to be a woman, because we are exactly that, diverse and different.

International Women’s Day: WE ARE WOMEN IN THE STRUGGLE AND ALL OF US ARE DIVERSE!

On March 8, 2019, in commemoration of International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) remembers and stands with the struggle of all women throughout the world for recognition and guarantees of their rights.

Despite the many efforts and clear progress made in the area of rights to improve the state of women in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially as regards the closure of gender gaps, and guarantee women’s real and effective access to health, education, employment, and political and economic participation, the huge challenge remains of overcoming the inequities that persist in virtually all spheres, particularly  when dealing with women who are racialized, ethnic, rural, or have diverse gender identities.

According to the data provided by Michelle Bachelet, the current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in an article entitled The State of Women in Latin America: 25 Years of Light and Shadows, 9,300 women die every year from causes related to pregnancy and their deficient gynecological-obstetric practices.  For every 100 men who live in poverty, 118 women live in a similar state, a figure that accounts for a systematic increase in poverty among women in the region since 1997 and up to the present day.

Despite the fact that women’s participation in the labor market has made notable strides, women continue to be a minority presence, marked by a series of “micro-aggressions” related to gender parity, the reason for which, according to CEPAL, women’s participation in the labor market has stalled at around 53%, and the 78.1% of women who work are in sectors defined by CEPAL as having low productivity, entailing worse remuneration, low social security coverage, and less contact with technology and innovation.

As regards women’s political participation, the challenge remains to increasing the presence of women in spaces of power to thereby transform the patriarchal structures that make it impossible for women to have a presence in governments, the management of public and private businesses, and in the development of laws.  “As long as we are not allowed to be decision-makers [or] participate in spaces of power, the possibility of leveling the playing field and building our societies under equal conditions will be a utopia,” notes the chief.  

In the area of gender-based violence, Latin America and the Caribbean continue to present the highest rate of assaults against women, ranked 14 among the 25 countries with the highest indices of femicide in the world.  Approximately 2,100 women are assassinated every year (six per day and 175 every month) for the simple fact of being women, according to what Bachelet indicated.

The foregoing provides a quick glance at the state of women’s rights in the region; nonetheless, a series of factors that run contrary to them have cross-cut the recognition of women’s diversity and the particularity of their conditions vis-à-vis the enforceability of rights; that is, rural women, Afro-descendant women, and those with diverse sexual and gender identities additionally confront other types of violence that we should make visible on this day.

According to the CEPAL report Afro-Descendant Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: Debts of Equality, the ‘visibilization’ of the historic presence of Afro-descendant women demands recognition of their concrete experience as women who live within a historical, social, and cultural context of slave-owning and racist societies.  Contexts, therefore, that deepen the inequities faced by Afro-descendant women as compared with other social groups, due to their ‘invisibilization’ as subjects of differentiated policies with particular impacts and thus, worrisome indices of poverty, little possibility to access healthcare, education, employment, and participation in decision-making spaces much lower that that of the rest of the population, further undermined by racist and discriminatory logic that is a product of the historical legacy manifested in the ways in which Afro-descendant peoples develop in society.

Something similar occurs with lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex women who throughout history have confronted physical and symbolic violence incorporated into the social group that makes it impossible for their sexual and gender identities to be recognized and thus, have their fundamental rights guaranteed.

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA), persons who self-identify as having an identity that differs from cisgender (socially concordant with the sex assigned at birth) or are socially recognized [as such], suffer from innumerable human rights violations.  In particular, in Latin America women are the recipients of a series of violent acts on the part of male chauvinists who stigmatize and/or pigeonhole them in roles in which they are not allowed to freely express themselves and recognize their identity.  It is thus that on average, the life expectancy of trans women is no greater than 30 years; their participation in the labor market lags behind, a high percentage of them work in the informal sector or as sexual workers, and they confront violent and complex processes for accessing health [and] education services and participating in spaces of decision-making and power.

We at Race & Equality call on all of the States of Latin America and the Caribbean to continue working to ensure guarantees and recognition of women’s rights.  Unquestionably, empowered women break the cycles of violence and poverty, decisive factors in making progress in consolidating societies that are more equitable and democratic.  To ensure that result, it is essential to continue working to break historically rooted patriarchal schemas, especially as they relate to women’s participation in decision-making spaces.

We urge the States to not lose sight of plurality and diversity in the construction of what it means to be a woman, in which it is essential to undertake affirmative actions that recognize Afro-descendant [and] rural women and women with diverse sexual and gender identities, in this way breaking the barriers that historically have systematically prevented the inclusion and participation of this group of women in social life and ensured that their future generations were subject to the same vicious cycle of inequality, racism, and discrimination.

Afro-Colombian organization and American University research group work together to document the state of the Afro-LGBTI population’s rights in Colombia

An American University research group, together with the Fundación Afrodescendiente por las Diversidades Sociales y Sexuales [Afro-descendant Foundation for Social and Sexual Diversity] (Somos Identidad [We Are Identity]), are documenting the violence threatening the lives and [physical] integrity of Afro-Colombians due to their sexual orientation or diverse gender identity.

With support from the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) within the framework of the research project undertaken by Race & Equality and seven other organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean in pursuit of the objective of documenting the state of the rights of Afro and LGBTI persons’ rights in the region, Somos Identidad, in partnership with a research group from the American University Washington College of Law, is documenting and analyzing the political-legal context in which Afro-Colombians’ diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are immersed, with a particular consideration of those aspects that guarantee or make it impossible for these groups of people to fully enjoy their fundamental rights.

According to Johana Caicedo, the legal representative of Somos Identidad, Colombia is one of the countries in the region that has taken the greatest legislative strides in the area of the LGBTI and Afro-descendant populations’ rights.  Nonetheless, no legislative work exists at the intersection of these two variables to guarantee and safeguard the rights of Afro-LGBTI persons.  While legislation exists, its materialization in guaranteeing rights remains weak and this tends to have a profound effect on the enforceability of the rights of this group of people that has been structurally and historically marginalized, added Caicedo.

During the days the Afro-Colombian organization of the Universidad del Valle del Cauca [Cauca Valley University] and American University research group worked together the last week in February and first week of March 2019, they met with sexually diverse black/Afro individuals in Cali; held various encounters with activists [and] representatives of Afro and LGBTI social organizations such as Santa María Fundación [Saint Mary Foundation]; and hosted spaces for dialogue with representatives of governmental entities such as the Ministry of Government of the Cauca Valley, Cali Mayor’s Office, and the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Nation.

 

We expect this research material will contribute to the creation of a map of the state of the Afro-LGBTI population’s rights in Colombia and its consolidation as an advocacy tool in the Inter-American System on behalf of this group of individuals.

Public Communiqué: we urge the Colombian State to immediately address the disappearance of Afro-Colombians exiled in Ecuador after being threatened

Bogotá, Colombia, March 4, 2019 – The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) joins its voice to the denunciation issued by the Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados [National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians] (AFRODES) to forcefully and urgently call on the Colombian State to immediately address the disappearance, since February 27 in Quito, Ecuador, of Plácido Tercero Escalante and Ana Gloria Cabezas, Afro-Colombian victims of forced displacement in Colombia and members of FUNDAFRO, an organization affiliated with the National Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES).

Plácido and Ana Gloria were forced to flee Colombia and request asylum in the neighboring country of Ecuador together with their families in January after receiving numerous threats and receiving no protection from Colombian authorities to guarantee their lives and [physical] integrity.

Erlendy Cuero, Vice President of AFRODES, notes that some days prior to their disappearance Ana Gloria and Plácido had denounced seeing in Quito the persons who had threatened them in their own territory, and for that reason were summoned to issue a declaration before the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Ecuador after they had reported their state of risk.  According to what AFRODES reports, since that day the whereabouts of the two popular social leaders have been unknown.

We strongly condemn what has transpired [and] urge the Colombian State to immediately address the situation of defenselessness and lack of guarantees confronted by popular social sectors that are immersed in an ongoing war in territories being fought over by illegal groups.  Likewise, we urge the international community to publicly denounce the systematic state of risk in which Colombia’s ethnic peoples find themselves, as they are particularly impacted by the social, political, and economic conflict faced by the country.  In addition, we urge Colombian State authorities to act promptly in order to find Ana and Plácido alive.

Gender- and race-based micro-aggressions perpetrated against Afro-trans women

Washington, DC, February 12, 2019 – Within the framework of a series of training processes put forward by the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality), the second encounter of the dialogue ‘Why Speak About Afro-LGBTI?’ was held on February 12, 2019 in the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with more than 60 activists and human rights defenders participating, primarily Afro-LGBTI persons, from Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic who were convened by the organization Trans Siempre Amigas [Trans Always Friends] (TRANSSA).

This second dialogue space, moderated by Christian King of TRANSSA, began with a focus on the discrimination experienced by the Afro-trans activist Belén Zapata, a member of the Afro-Peruvian youth organization Ashanti, in the process of entering the city of Santo Domingo, in the Las Américas Airport.

The discrimination Belén confronted can be summarized by stating that after she cleared the legal immigration controls and was proceeding to exit the airport, an employee retained her passport without identifying himself or giving a reason for his action, forcing her to stand against a wall for around 40 minutes while being stared at by people in the airport.  Afterward, she was led, together with a group of 10 others (most of whom were Afro-descendants), to other controls and scans in which she was repeatedly checked until [the employees] finally concluded she was not carrying drugs.  Belén received no response to her questions as to the reasons for this procedure; only by the end did she herself deduce she was being submitted to a drug-check.  She was informed that it was a routine check performed on new visitors to the country.

The entire incident experienced by Belén did not last longer than an hour.  The situation itself did not generate any legal consequences against her, no physical violence was employed, and furthermore, the procedures apparently were being justified by a confusing argument of drug-control and standard procedures employed with new visitors to the country.  The responsible parties?  After Race & Equality issued a communiqué and tweet denouncing the situation, Aerodom (the entity that operates the Dominican Republic’s airports) indicated that it is a private entity and that other entities were in fact responsible.  Conclusion?  There is no specific entity that can respond to this situation.

Within the framework of the roundtable conversation, the participants reflected on the normalization of this type of aggression.  Although its effects entail several violations – such as the violation of due process, unjustified restriction of movement, and arbitrary abuse of authority – we view these situations as minor because they do not entail extremely grave physical abuse.  In this sense, we are dealing with what is known as ‘micro-aggressions’ [‘micro-violencias’] that become normalized by the victims, who do not view them as grave or simply because they have no expectation of receiving a response when they denounce them to the authorities.

Belén’s courage was obvious during the conversation as she spoke about this situation, given that some of the attendees at the event had talked about similar situations they had experienced, whether due to their race, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity.  Likewise, the gravity of these incidents was discussed, when the lack of identification from officials and arbitrary nature of the procedures hinders the pinpointing of specific responsibility.  In addition, the group questioned the airport authorities’ lack of coordinated work strategies in this case which, as in other cases, is the result of viewing the response to situations of structural discrimination as being the responsibility of others rather than everyone’s responsibility.

Another situation narrated by an Afro-trans participant illustrated the limitations of her access to healthcare as a trans woman.  The participant described a situation in which she was the object of mockery when she asked to be seen by a urologist for problems associated with her prostate.  For this simple fact she was ridiculed and initially refused copies of the medical exams that had been performed on her, though she was finally able to get them due to her insistence.

Again, while she had access to medical attention and the situation can be described as a simple matter of incorrect attention provided to the user, this type of aggression that can appear to be ‘micro’ in fact has a profound impact on trans persons’ confidence in medical institutions and in this case, that of Afro-trans [persons].  This is a situation in which medical services become tortuous and health or even life itself are put at risk when the refusal of services leads to individuals deciding on their own to stop seeking adequate medical attention.

These two simple reflections on the aggressions visited upon Afro-trans women, while they deviated us from the classic discussions regarding the grave violence committed against the Afro, trans, and LGBTI populations, placed front and center the fact that oftentimes the root cause of the grave violations experienced by these populations is found in daily life, in the degeneration of a service or irregular procedures which, while not leaving permanent traces, have the effect, drop by drop, of wearing away Afro-trans persons’ human dignity and integrity.

Thanks to the support of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the United States Department of State, Race & Equality was able to sponsor the event and facilitate the attendance of the international invitees.

COMMUNIQUÉ: We reject discriminatory and arbitrary acts on the part of the Santa Domingo airport authorities committed against Afro-LGBT leader

The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) rejects the discriminatory treatment of an Afro-Peruvian trans leader by airport authorities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Yesterday, February 10, human rights activist and Afro transgender leader Belén Zapata of the organization Ashanti Perú was the victim of irregular and discriminatory treatment on the part of airport authorities who arbitrarily withheld the activist’s passport due to her ethnic-racial identity and gender identity.

Belén, who was to participate in the Second Afro-LGBTI Encounter organized by Race & Equality, cleared the regular immigration controls of the Las Américas Airport in Santo Domingo and then proceeded, along with all the other passengers, to customs control in order to leave the airport.  However, when she presented the required documentation and began to exit, she was intercepted by an employee of the airport who did not identify himself by name or the entity to which he belonged.  From the testimony provided by Belén, it was possible at a glance to determine that he was a police official.

During the supposed “regular” protocol, according to what the police indicated to Belén, he withheld her passport for more than 40 minutes while she was forced to wait against a wall near the airport exit.  Although the Afro-Peruvian leader repeatedly requested information regarding the process that was being carried out, she never received an answer.  Belén’s passport records her legal masculine name; nonetheless, her gender identity is feminine, the reason for which on trips abroad she has suffered through these types of arbitrary airport controls with no legal justification.

“The police spoke to me using the masculine linguistic forms, but I corrected him and told him I was a woman, as he could see,” declared Belén in her denunciation.

During her time waiting at the airport exit, Belén was exposed to between 40 and 60 minutes of treatment that violated her rights to freedom of movement and to be informed regarding the processes being carrying out.  This type of violence, although it appears to be minor, is oftentimes the daily reality of trans women in general and even more so that of Afro-trans women in Peru, the Dominican Republic, and in general throughout Latin America.  Trans women are victims of the arbitrary exercise [of power] by public authorities who make them out to be criminal subjects and restrict their rights, in this case the right to freedom of movement, with no legal justification.

According to Belén’s account, after the wait, she was taken by the airport employee, along with another group of people, most of whom were Afro-descendants, to a drug-identification scanner.  Afterward, she was authorized to leave the airport without being notified at any point of the reasons or reasoning behind said protocol.

The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights, Ashanti Perú-Red Peruana de Jóvenes Afrodescendientes [Peruvian Network of Afro-descendant Youth], and Trans Siempre Amigas [Trans Always Friends] (TRANSSA) call on Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI [Century XXI Dominican Airports] (Aerodom), the Cuerpo Especializado en Seguridad Aeroportuaria y de la Aviación Civil [Specialized Airport Security and Civil Aviation Corps] (CESAC), and the Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas [National Directorate for Drug Control] (DNCD) with operations in the Las Américas Aiport in Santo Domingo to investigate these incidents, issue a statement about them, publicly ask for forgiveness from the young woman who was affected, and initiate training processes for its employees on respecting Afro-trans persons.

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