“O human, in what great excellence the Lord God has placed you, because he created you and formed you in the image of his beloved Son according to the body, and in his likeness”
(Saint Francis of Assisi, Adm 5)
Violence for being from the LGBTI community in one’s country of origin
In recent years there have been many legal advances for the LGBTI community: agreements, decrees, and laws that assure respect for the most basic rights of people who belong to the LGBTI community, so that they can exercise and enjoy their freedoms without any repercussions. Despite these advances, the social reality is very different, since acts of violence against LGBTI people continue to occur.[1]
The panorama of violence, corruption and inequality in Central America, coupled with a predominantly patriarchal society, results in criminalization and disinterest in addressing issues relevant to sexual diversity.[2] The label “homosexual” is a condemnation, and converts LGBTI people into recipients of hateful and discriminatory comments and actions that promote and provoke violence against them and against activists and defenders their rights.
According to the Honduran NGO Red Lésbica Catrachas “from 2009 to July 2017, 264 murders of LGBTI people (152 gay men and 86 trans people) were reported in Honduras. The NGO COMCAVIS-TRANS also reported a total of 28 serious attacks, the majority of which were murders against LGBTI people in El Salvador between January and September 2017. “[3]
Violence exerted against sexual orientation and gender identity is present in family and work life, society in general, and also at the state level. Therefore, reporting violence to the authorities often implies a direct additional risk to one’s safety, life, and integrity, for fear of being the object of reprisals from their attackers. In addition, there remains a generalized lack of confidence in the authorities in charge of enforcing the law, who on repeated occasions have been involved in cases of corruption, complicity and cover-up together with organized crime groups and gangs. For this reason, many people decide not to report the attacks; in the face of imminent persecution, they often decide to move away from their places of origin.
People from the LGBTI community experience rejection, ridicule, aggression and insults. Migration, therefore, is synonymous with fleeing LGBTI-phobia, violence, stigmatization, exclusion, intimidation, threats, physical attacks and sexual violence and even murder.
Violence on the migration route
Therefore, people from the LGBTI community may emigrate seeking safety and protection in other countries such as Mexico or the United States. However, during the migration route they usually encounter more harassment, violence and discrimination.
Although all migrants are exposed to dangers during the route, it must be understood that in the face of this violence, people from the LGBTI community face additional threats: rejection from their relatives, previous exposure to violence: sexual, psychological, physical abuse, sometimes forced sex work. Due to this, they live with a high degree of stress and distrust, sometimes even among their peers. Many have never had the opportunity and freedom to express their sexual identity or orientation.
Since 2012, the number of LGBTI people that we at La 72 have served annually has been increasing. Of all the people accompanied, 34% were people from the LGBTI community.
As with all of the specific groups of especially vulnerable people, for the LGBTI community at La 72, learning and integration activities are fostered in the daily coexistence. The services offered by La 72 together with Doctors without Borders (MSF) are:
Physical
Primary medical care (Doctors Without Borders- MSF).
HIV testing
Access to retrovirals
Access to hormonal therapies
Condoms
Mental health
Groups with MSF professionals
Individual sessions with MSF professionals
Educational and training opportunities include:
Cinema – Forum with the theme of sexual diversity and subsequent debate.
Weekly meetings, health discussion group.
Access to workshops and work.
In La 72, we have housed activist transsexual women who are defenders of the rights of the LGBTI community in their countries of origin. Many times for that reason they are persecuted as in the case of Sonia, a 30-year-old educator and human rights defender, originally from San Salvador. We are happy for those who have achieved their goal of a dignified life free of violence, and we continue to fight defending the human rights of all migrants.
Alejandra Conde
La 72 – Home Refuge for Migrants
RFM – Mexico Team
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[1] “La comunidad LGBTI quiere igualdad real en América Latina, no solo derechos” en La comunidad LGBTI quiere igualdad real en América Latina, no solo derechos | Justicia Social | DW | 26.01.2021
[2] “Centroamérica y su dilema con la diversidad” en Centroamérica y su dilema con la diversidad | America | EL PAÍS (elpais.com)
[3] Cuando ser uno mismo se paga con la vida, por Juan Ignacio Cortes en Cuando ser uno mismo se paga con la vida (amnesty.org) publicado, el 28 de enero 2021