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

 

Seven Cases of Violence against LGBTI Persons Were Reported in Brazil at the End of April

The alarming numbers of cases of homicides, persecutions, harassment, and discrimination against LGBTI people in Brazil expose the obvious social and political crisis that makes it impossible to guarantee and protect the fundamental rights of historically disadvantaged and unrecognized social groups. From April 18-25, at least five (5) homicides of LGBTI persons occurred in Brazil, in addition to two assassination attempts, all of which were carried out with visible brutality.

Among these cases, at least four of them were of trans women, or travestis. Travesti is a gender identity that exists is some Latin American countries, like Brazil, and that describes people assigned male at birth who take on a feminine gender role and gender expression, sometimes through the use of feminizing body modifications such as hormone replacement therapy, breast implants, and silicone injections.

On April 18, the body of a travesti was found with marks of violence in Fortaleza, capital of Ceará. The police could not identify the victim.

On April 19, a travesti was shot in Foz do Iguaçu, in the state of Paraná. Through a video, it is evident that she had to walk in the street to get help at the Mobile Emergency Response Service (SAMU). She was shot by two men who were on a motorcycle. The men ran away soon after.

On April 21, a person named Bruneide was also shot in the city of Porto Velho, in Rondônia, by two men on a motorcycle. After the shots, both of them ran away. From the news reports, it is not clear how Bruneide self-identified.

Also on April 21, the travesti Rayssa was murdered in Caucaia, Ceará. The shots were discharged by two men and one of them hit her in the head. Rayssa died as a result of her wounds.

On the same day, the body of Antonio Marcos Joventino da Silva, a gay man, was found in the city of Camutanga, in Pernambuco. There were signs of stabbing and torture. Witnesses told police he had been involved in a bar fight the night before.

On April 24, Ari Ribeiro da Silva, an LGBTI activist, was stabbed to death in the city of Parauapebas, Pará. According to witnesses, Ari was seen in a bar accompanied by a man. They left the bar going toward the victim’s beauty salon, where the body was found. The suspect was arrested.

On April 25, the hairdresser John Steven Serna was found dead inside his house in Manaus, Amazonas. The victim was possibly struck by a knife in the chest and in the neck. The police reported that the objects of the residence were overturned and the body was in a room covered with sheets, with hands tied.

In the same week that all these attacks occurred to LGBTI individuals, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro made a sexist and lgbtphobic speech in which he state that “Brazil cannot be a country of the gay world, gay tourism. We have families.” And, “whoever wants to come here to have sex with a woman, feel free.” The statement can be added to the president’s usual statements that encourage and approve violations of the rights of women, young people, Afro-descendants, and LGBTI persons.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights calls upon the Brazilian State to commit itself to creating a healthy environment for LGBTI people, as well as carrying out investigations so that this community can live without the constant threat of violence. Brazil is internationally obligated to guarantee the fundamental rights to life and personal integrity of LGBTI individuals.

Sete casos de violência a LGBTI foram reportados no Brasil la última semana de Abril

Leia aqui artigo em português

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About the autor:

Isaac Porto – LGBTI Consultant for Race and Equality in Brazil

“This is a person who deserved to die.  She should not be in this life”. Review of Colombia’s first-ever conviction for Femicide of a Trans woman

The facts

Ányela Patricia was a trans woman who worked as a hairdresser in the municipality of Garzón in the department of Huila.  In contrast to the life experiences of other trans women in Colombia that have been marked by stigma, she was recognized and loved by the community.  It is thus that when Ányela was assassinated in February 2017, the community of Garzón took to the streets during her funeral to march with posters and flags, calling for an investigation into her homicide (see here the image and news about it: http://www.lanacion.com.co/2017/02/11/lo-mate-porque-me-hizo-dano-homicida-de-estilista/).

The incidents that occurred in February 2017 apparently transpired quickly in Ányela’s hair salon in the morning hours: she was shot several times by Mr. Davinson Estiven Eraso, who on a previous occasion in August 2016 had tried to attack Ányela with a machete and was stopped by the intervention of [her] friends and relatives.  Although on this occasion the alleged assailant was taken to a police station, no further consequences ensued with regard to this antecedent (particularly serious because the matter was limited to a police detention proceeding without a criminal investigation that delves into the gravity [of the act], as occurs in many cases in Colombia).

When Mr. Eraso finally achieved his goal in 2017, he was caught by the authorities, before whom he declared he had carried out unfinished business, additionally adding in front of regional media of the department of Huila that Ányela was a person who should die: “This is a person who deserved to die.  She should not be in this life.”

The sentence

The Second Criminal Circuit Court, led by Judge Catalina María Manrique Calderón, sentenced Mr. Eraso as the author of the crime of aggravated femicide for the crimes established in the Criminal Code, Articles 104 A and 104 B, and the crime of illegally bearing arms.  Nonetheless, he was declared immune from prosecution because during the criminal process he demonstrated signs of schizophrenia associated with, among other things, drug dependence and in any case, with “the existence of a permanent mental disorder.”  As such, the assailant was ordered imprisoned for 20 years in a psychiatric institution or an establishment that could appropriately attend to him.

There are several elements that are fundamental to understanding this sentence and that represent important progress in terms of the approach to violence committed against trans women, including the following we wish to highlight: recognition of gender identity; recognition of the motivation behind gender-based violence and indictment for the crime of femicide; [and] use of national and international regulatory frameworks.  Nonetheless, other issues should [also] be carefully reviewed in the name of criminal procedural guarantees.

Recognition of gender identity

One of the first signs of clear progress made by this sentence represents a milestone in Colombia: the express recognition of the victim’s gender identity.  It might seem to be a small thing, but keeping in mind that while sentences and decrees exist in Colombia that recognize the gender identity of trans persons, in this case the scope of the recognition of gender identity also translates into the possibility of applying a criminal regulation that traditionally has been utilized exclusively to protect the lives of cisgender women, despite the fact that Article 104 A also recognizes gender-based violence against women.

This recognition is important because it clarifies the concerns of public prosecutors and lawyers in this matter, as evidently the Office of the Public Prosecutor in this case adopted an interpretation regarding gender identity consistent with Colombian jurisprudence and the recommendations and international declarations in this area.  This had very concrete effects, one of the most interesting of which was the acceptance by the Office of the Public Prosecutor in a court of first instance as supporting evidence regarding the female gender identity of the victim the testimonies of friends and relatives who recognized Ányela as a transgender woman, as well as her expression of feminine gender.  Secondly, while the Office of the Public Prosecutor mentions the existence of surgical interventions that had been performed on the victim’s body (breast augmentation), this is considered to be a supplementary part of the construction of her own identity.

Recognizing the victim’s identity is very important because for some public prosecutors and jurists working in this field, gender identity could only be proved through changes in identification documents – the personal identification credential.  This, of course, would be an unnecessary requirement that would contravene Colombian constitutional jurisprudence, as well as international standards in this matter, in the sense that gender identity is made up of actual life experiences and is not based on legal recognition.  This proposition of the Office of the Public Prosecutor was seconded by the judge hearing the case that, although it delves into the description of the autopsy which describes the surgical intervention, it takes up anew the social construction of Ányela as a woman who was well-known in her community.

In conclusion, there is no single standard for proving gender identity; therefore, demanding a sex change that is recorded in the public registry as proof would not acknowledge the personal and social processes for constructing gender identity.

 Recognition of the motivation behind gender-based violence and indictment for the crime of femicide

As a result of the Office of the Public Prosecutor’s recognition of the victim’s gender identity, it is not only possible to indict for the crime of femicide, but in addition, the gender identity itself of the victim becomes a central element for understanding the motivation for the violence.

When there is an indictment for femicide in the case of a trans woman, it not only requires a woman to be the victim but also for the motivation behind the violence to be related to the fact that she is a woman or due to her gender identity.  In this case, both the Office of the Public Prosecutor as well as the judge who heard the case agreed that in light of the fact that the assailant followed the victim and saw her repeatedly in her hair salon, he was able to establish the victim’s gender identity; this was also evidenced in situations of verbal aggression in which he insultingly mentioned Ányela’s gender identity.

The fact that the assailant had followed Ányela, verbally attacked her, and even progressed to the point of trying to attack her with a bladed weapon (machete) in 2016 prior to the homicide denotes a context of persecution and violence based on the victim’s gender identity.

While the sentence could have been richer in detail in order to make a clear connection between the assailant’s prejudice, the violence, and its relationship to the victim’s gender identity over the course of the trial, the Office of the Public Prosecutor was able to demonstrate that the fact that Ányela was a trans woman played a fundamental part in her homicide.  In declarations made by the assailant to some media outlets, Mr. Eraso clearly manifested a series of social prejudices and stereotypes that were negatively linked to his perception of trans persons.  This type of declaration accords with the investigation standards such as those employed in the United States for gathering data on hate crimes [and] denotes prejudice by the assailant against trans persons in this case.

Use of national and international regulatory frameworks

Another aspect that, while previously mentioned, merits being highlighted: the application by the judge hearing the case of national and international standards for understanding gender identity in this case.  For the judge, understanding her duty is framed by the protection and recognition of gender identity, whether through constitutional jurisprudence pursuant to the C-584 sentence in 2015 (among others) that recognizes gender identity, or the interpretation of the scope of the Colombian State’s responsibility to investigate this type of violence, in accordance with the OAS declarations signed by the State, adherence to the Inter-American Court sentence in the Karen Atala case that explains gender identity as a different category of sexual orientation, and the use of the Yogyakarta principles as an important referent.

While the judge does not delve into all of these legal referents, she employs them as points of reference for juridically positioning the discussion regarding the recognition of gender identity, the obligation to investigate, and the appropriate application of criminal justice in this concrete case.

The discussions that remain outstanding

An initial observation that can be made regarding the body of the sentence would be to give preference both in the text as well as throughout the entire criminal trial to the recognition of identity vis-à-vis the victim’s name.  While the name ‘Ányela’ is recognized in the text of the sentence, throughout the text her masculine name, as recorded in the National Civil Registry [‘registraduría’], is repeated over and over, whereas Ányela’s identity-based name should have been given preference in the reasoning of the sentence.  In future, the identity-based name could be utilized throughout the sentence, with an initial clarification that the victim’s identity is fully established in the registry with a masculine name but that, as an integral part of the sentence, the identity-based name of the victim will be given preference.  This should also be standard practice throughout all legal proceedings involving a trans person, whether the person is the victim or the suspect.

A larger problem covers the use of aggravating circumstances.  On one hand, while an aggravating circumstance is applied related to the state of the victim’s defenselessness at the moment she was attacked, an[other] aggravating circumstance is applied related to the victim’s gender identity.  This is an important discussion and merits careful analysis in order to prevent the violation of procedural guarantees of the accused.

As has been mentioned, in this case the recognition of the victim’s gender identity allowed for the application of the crime of femicide because the gender identity of the victim was recognized and [the fact that] she was socially recognized as a trans woman.  Nonetheless, this same crime considers one of its aggravating circumstances to be that the violence be committed due to the victim’s sexual orientation (or gender identity, taking into account constitutional jurisprudence).  It is strange that a person who is charged with criminal responsibility for an action – in this case, assassinating a person due to her gender identity – in addition has his sentence increased because he committed the action due to the victim’s gender identity.

This double jeopardy for criminal responsibility would be a clear violation of the rights of the accused and in this case, be susceptible to being appealed.  A clearer or more logical example of when this aggravating circumstance could be applied would be in the case of a cisgender female victim of femicide who had additionally been assaulted due to being bisexual or lesbian, in which case the aggravating circumstance would clearly be in effect due to sexual orientation.

These theoretical clarifications in criminal matters are essential for safeguarding the procedural guarantees of the accused who in all cases has criminal rights and guarantees that must be protected.

In conclusion

We have here a sentence that makes progress in recognizing trans women’s identity and resolves some practical discussions that should be held during the course of criminal proceedings, both in the investigation process and imputation by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, as well as in the legal proceedings themselves.

Other aspects that could be expanded in the future are the standards for establishing the connection between the assailant’s prejudice and the violence he/she visits upon the victim; for the time being, the express knowledge of gender identity [and] prior existence of verbal and physical violence are useful for demonstrating the occurrence of a femicide-focused assault in this type of case.

Other aspects meriting greater discussion are preventing double jeopardy for criminal responsibility for the same actions with the use of aggravating circumstances that center the analysis on gender identity in the case of trans persons.  Giving preference to other aggravating circumstances – such as in this case the victim’s state of defenselessness – appears clearer and more protective for the victimizer.  In any case, the defense of those of trans persons is not at odds with the procedural guarantees of the accused.

 

About the Autor:  Mauricio Noguera
LGBTI Program Officer for Latin America

LGBTIQ community is more vulnerable after the start of the crisis in Nicaragua, according to activists

Washington, DC. November 30th, 2018. The LGBTIQ community has been traditionally discriminated against, however, since the human rights crisis started in Nicaragua last April, the violations of their human rights have worsened. According to activists who spoke with the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), this community has suffered from discrimination and harassment in a more targeted and systematic way in recent months.

“Being gay or lesbian in Nicaragua, especially in this context where violence is more socially justified, puts us in a more vulnerable condition,” says Alex, a 25-year-old gay man who lives in a small city in northern Nicaragua. According to the young activist, they’re vulnerable “not only because we don’t agree with a totalitarian political system, but because we are considered sexual deviants.”

Alex adds that “in the street, they will not only attack you because you’re ‘Blue and White’ but they will also call you a ‘Blue and White’ faggot or a ‘Blue and White’ lesbo”.

He is one of thousands of citizens who joined the peaceful protests that at first demanded the annulment of reforms to the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute. The movement took the streets demanding justice and respect for human rights after the brutal governmental repression that has left as of now at least 325 dead, more than 2,000 people injured, and hundreds of persons who are political prisoners. People call them “Blue and White” because they use the Nicaraguan flag as a symbol of protest.

“Since I started participating in demonstrations, I’ve been being persecuted and attacked,” Alex shares, adding that groups of government-aligned men continually pass by his house on motorcycles and shouting phrases like “coup-plotter” or “faggot, we’re going to kill you.” “They put a lot of emphasis on my identity and my sexual and life choices”.

Francisca, a lesbian woman who prefers to omit her real name, explains that before the crisis, the LGBTIQ community had made significant progress regarding respect and equality. “But in these times of crisis, many things in which we had advanced, have receded,” she remarks.

Just like Alex, Francisca participated in the civic demonstrations. Soon after, she began to receive threats and was victim of an intense intimidation campaign through social networks.

“They threatened me directly, they told me things like ‘this is the dyke,’ or ‘look, we know where you live, get ready,’ or ‘we’re going to show you what a man is, maybe that’s how you will get well.’ They even sent lists on WhatsApp and Facebook saying I was pro-abortion and a crazy feminist.”

This situation, plus a telephone call in which she was warned that her capture was imminent, forced Francisca to flee her home. “I’ve been away from my house for almost five months, missing my family, missing everything I left there. I had to leave only with a backpack,” she stated.

Francisca now lives in a different city with her girlfriend. But the fear of being imprisoned is constant. Alex’s situation is similar. According to the activist, those who decided to stay in Nicaragua must live “practically in hiding.”

“I’ve been away from my house for almost five months, missing my family, missing everything I left there. I had to leave only with a backpack”. A 33-year-old lesbian woman.

On October 13th, the Nicaraguan Police prohibited any type of mobilization that was not authorized by that institution. One day later, a group of 38 citizens and activists were arrested by police officers for carrying out a sit-in without having requested such permits.

“We are in greater danger since there are no longer mobilizations. The State and its repressive machine have a greater ability to find you, look for you, and do anything with your life. Repression, arrests, and extrajudicial executions, including those for LGBT defenders, are more focused now,” explains Alex.

More aggressions

Transgender women have also suffered different types of aggression. “There are cases of transgender women who have been kidnapped by the police or paramilitary forces, who have been savagely assaulted, beaten, and left lying in the streets”. The aggressors threaten that the attacks are a demonstration of what will continue to happen to the ‘Blue and White’ people, says Dámaso Vargas, a 25-year-old transgender woman and activist from Managua.

One of the forms of protest that Dámaso exercised was abandoning the public education system. She was a senior high school student this year. “I disagree with everything that’s happening and for me, leaving school is also a way of saying that I will not continue to validate a State that is not really doing the work it should be doing,” she affirms.

Additionally, there are four trans women who are currently imprisoned in the men’s penitentiary system of La Modelo for having participated in the civic demonstrations, according to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish).

A case that has been broadly reported by national media is that of Victoria Obando, a 27-year-old trans woman and former student at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua), who barricaded herself in her university as a way of protest. She was arrested in late August and the authorities now accuse her of several crimes, including terrorism, murder, fire, kidnapping, armed robbery, and carrying out death threats.

“Victoria says they strip her in front of the rest of the inmates, policemen boo her and tell her things like ‘people who stay here are virile man, machos,’ knowing that we don’t want to feel that way and we don’t feel that way,” explains Dámaso, who says she feels powerless and sad in the face of such a situation.

Sexual violations have also become a form of repression. CENIDH has registered 12 cases of men and women who were victims of sexual violence during illegal detentions or kidnappings committed by parapolice men and police officers.

“Those are very terrible testimonies that currently can’t be brought to justice in this context precisely because there are no institutions that can investigate the authorities,” explains Wendy Flores, a lawyer at CENIDH, during the conversation “Women resisting repression” which was organized by DeHumo last week.

In the same conversation, Tania Sánchez denounced that a man tried to abuse her sister, Kisha López, a trans woman imprisoned in La Modelo. “Kisha defended herself and hit him with a broom in the ribs, because she says that regardless of what she is, they have to respect her,” Sanchez said.

Indigenous people

For indigenous communities, belonging to the LGBTIQ population results in a double factor of vulnerability, according to a gay Miskitu man who prefers to identify himself as Arturo.

Since 2013, 23 people from the LGBTIQ community have been murdered in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua.

“Many people of different sexual orientation who are in the universities have been persecuted, have been watched over, because they (government-aligned people) fear that this issue that is happening in the western part of the country can start here also among young people,” says Arturo, a 35-year-old attorney.

According to the activist and lawyer, in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua “the crisis is not only 7 months long.” He says that the situation of persecution “has remained throughout time due to the same exclusion and discrimination that the State powers have imposed on the indigenous communities.” And he provided the example that since 2013, 23 people from the LGBTIQ community have been murdered. “Persecution of this community is in the background of the crisis,” he reveals.

Arturo himself affirms he has been attacked and threatened on social networks, both for his sexual orientation and for “being a defender of human rights, specifically for promoting the collective rights of indigenous people.”

Their work will continue

Although human rights violations in the current context of crisis in Nicaragua are not exclusive to the LGBTIQ community, the activists who spoke with Race and Equality insisted on the need to make visible their problems and challenges.

As Alex mentioned, “the actions that we take every day, the meetings, the mobilization strategies, the contents spread on social media, the demands of our political prisoners, mainly those who belong to the LGBTIQ community, that is our motivation.”

Nicaraguan human rights defenders will talk in Geneva about the evolution of the crisis in their country

Seven months after the current human rights crisis started in Nicaragua as a result of the government’s repression of peaceful protests, a group of human right defenders will hold a public conversation in Geneva on November 28th with the aim of making visible the consequences and permanence of the crisis. The crisis continues now with the prohibition of civic demonstrations and the prosecution of hundreds of protestants, students and activists who have been arrested for participating in protests and are being subjected to trials in which the guarantees of due process are disregarded.

In the conversation, organized by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), the human rights defenders will describe their own experiences during the crisis and the risks they face in their daily work.

Special emphasis will be placed on the situation of injustice and defenselessness faced by populations that traditionally experience discrimination, such as women, indigenous persons, Afro-descendants and the LGBTI community. These groups have been repressed for defending democracy and demanding justice and respect for human rights.

The human right defenders will also refer to the situation faced by hundreds of political prisoners, who have reported torture and ill treatment in prisons and detention centers. According to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish), of the 602 citizens imprisoned as of November 14th for participating in the protests, 563 are men and 50 women, of which 4 are transgender women.

The image of “normality” that the Nicaraguan government intends to establish both nationally and internationally contrasts diametrically with the vision that human rights defenders will provide that day, which is that in Nicaragua “nothing is normal”, since the violations of human rights committed by the Nicaraguan authorities are systematic and remain unpunished.

Nicaragua will be evaluated by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2019. This review will offer human rights defenders, civil society organizations, and the international community an important opportunity to peacefully influence the crisis that today overwhelms the Nicaraguan people.

Race and Equality Congratulates Caribe Afirmativo for the Release of its Report, “Enterezas”

Washington, D.C. October 24, 2018. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) congratulates Caribe Afirmativo, a civil society organization in Colombia, for the release of its report, “Enterezas” (“Strengths”). The report is the result of intensive field work to highlight the voices of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women of the Caribbean region of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras and proposes strategies to improve the response to violence committed against these women.

The report was presented during a conference in Barranquilla, held from October 22-24, where lesbian, bisexual, and trans women from the eight departments of the Caribbean region of Colombia participated. The women, who represented various local civil society organizations, had the opportunity to share experiences and network. They also heard from various representatives of Colombian and international organizations that work to improve the rights of LGBTI persons, including Race and Equality, PROMSEX from Peru, and Aireana from Paraguay. A representative from the Rapporteurship on the Rights of LGBTI Persons from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also participated in the conference, as well as the Mexican activist Amaranta Gomez.

Violence against lesbian and bisexual women is not well understood or documented, and therefore, the violence against these women as well as trans women all too frequently remains in impunity. Caribe Afirmativo’s report is a significant step to help these women access justice and make public all types of violence they suffer.

Race and Equality emphatically denounces violence motivated by prejudice against lesbian, bisexual, and trans women and reiterates our commitment to support them in efforts aimed toward the promotion and recognition of their rights.

More information about the report here:  http://caribeafirmativo.lgbt/2018/10/22/mujeres-lbt-del-caribe-se-reunen-encuentro-regional-enterezas/ 

 

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights together with Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA), and the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons request the immediate and effective investigation of the trans-femicide of Marisa Félix Sánchez

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), express its concern about the severe acts denounce by the civil society organizations Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA) and the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons ( in Spanish ODHPT) related to the trans-femicide of Maris Félix Sánchez who was known as “Haitianita”.  Marisa (registered as Richard Félix Sanchez), was a trans woman, afro-descendant, Haitian, sex workers of 30 years old.

According to complaints made by local organizations the acts took place on the early morning of October 15, 2018 in the municipality of Verón, Punta Cana where Marisa worked as sexual worker since 2015 at the Barceló Avenue of Verón. The public information available suggest that the body of Marisa was found on the same area. Sex workers, coworkers of the victim, assured that they saw Marisa leave with a client wearing a red t-shirt in a motorcycle, they also saw the same person arriving with her dead body. On images that are circulating through social media, it is possible to see Marisa’s bloody body, with a deep wound on the cranial area, with evident signs of violence. 

Similarly, according to public information available, the local police went to the area and found a condom, which allows arguing that the acts could have been preceded by sexual violence.

Race and Equality, together with TRANSSA and, the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons consider that the killing of Marisa is related to a deep-rooted context of crimes motivated by prejudice; specifically, a trans-femicide motivated to the female gender identity of the victim. Likewise, we notice with concern that this act is part of a severe context of physical and sexual violence, and killings of trans women that have been denounced systematically by local organizations like TRANSSA and the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons.

Race and Equality call the attention to the local authorities to initiate an effective investigation of the acts immediately, taking into consideration the context of physical and sexual violence, that maid leads to the conclusion that it was a trans-femicide. All of these, in spite of the legal limitations on the Dominican frameworks that do not include the crime of trans-femicide, nor the gender identity of trans women as a relevant element of analysis during the criminal procedure. 

Because the aforementioned legal limitations, and to avoid impunity, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, call the attention to the local authorities to take into consideration the differential factors that are involved in the case, as the gender identity, race, vulnerability as sexual worker, and the nationality of the victim. We consider it is fundamental to analyze the best application of the articles related with homicide in the Dominican context. Similarly, we call the local authorities to have in mind that the facts could have been related to sexual violence either because of rape or sexual aggression, this is an independent aggression that must be thoroughly investigated.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights on a joint statement with TRANSSA and, the Observatorio de Derechos Humanos de Personas Trans, extend a call to the Office of the Attorney General, the General Attorney Jean Alain Rodríguez, the Unit of Integral Attention of Gender Violence, Intrafamily and Sexual Crimes of Verón, Punta Cana, and to its public prosecutor, to investigate the acts, taking into consideration the multiple differential elements of the case. Likewise, we extend a call to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and its Rapporteurship of the rights of LGBTI persons, Women, and Afro-descendant persons; and the United Nations offices on the Dominican Republic and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to monitor the situation and follow-up the case closely. 

Finally, we request to have all the criminal procedures exhausted to avoid the impunity of the dead of Marisa, because it is necessary that the Dominican government send a clear message of zero tolerance to the violence against trans women as part of the National Plan against Gender Violence, which was launched on November 8, 2017.

We invite you to follow the hashtag of zero tolerance to theviolence against trans women: #NIUNAMENOSRD

Conference of Latin American and Caribbean LGBTI Political Leaders

INTRODUCTION:

The Conference of Latin American and Caribbean LGBTI Political Leaders is a space for reflection, dialogue and an exchange of experiences between Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) leaders and their allies that will allow participants to identify advances, challenges and best practices in the participation of LGBTI activists in the region’s political processes. The ultimate objective of the conference is to promote and make visible the political participation of LGBTI activists in democratic state institutions, regional democratic processes, as well as in international human rights bodies. The conference will be held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on October 2-3, 2015. Over 200 participants are expected to attend. Activities over the two-day period will include discussion, trainings, professional development activities, and the creation of new networks on key topics.

TIME AND DATE OF CONFERENCE:

The event will take place over two days, October 2-3, 2015, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE:

The participants will be LGBTI leaders and their allies who are working toward greater political participation by LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean. Participants will include elected officials, public servants, members of political parties, former, current and future candidates for political office, as well as members of civil society and the business community.

The Conference will include simultaneous translation in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE CONFERENCE:

Up until five years ago the number of openly LGBTI persons working as elected official or public servants could be counted on one hand. Today there are over 70 LGBTI persons serving in these position in Latin America and the Caribbean, and their numbers are rapidly on the rise. These leaders represent the first line of the struggle. History tells us that together we can make great things happen. Conference participants will leave the meetings with new ideas for greater political participation and to advance the struggle toward equality. They will share and learn from other leaders working within the democratic process, and will gain new skills that will increase their leadership capacity and serve to work with others in the movement who share their aspirations: to participate in the transformation of our communities and work toward a more just and egalitarian society.

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