Stop killing us - Regional report CeDoSTALC 2019-2020

COVI

D-19

Pand e

mic

Structural Poverty

Regional Report 2019-2020

STOP

KILLING US! Absence of State

l Violence

a Institution

Domestic Violence

Odio e d s e n e Crím

Social Exclusion

Forced Migration

Marcela Romero Regional Coordinator RedLacTrans

Nadir Cardozo NR Argentina ATTTA

Alexus D´Marco NR Bahamas D´Marco Foundation

Alexa Hoffman NR Barbados TAAB

Zahnia Canul NR Belize TIA BELIZE

Raiza Torriani NR Bolivia RED TREBOL

Tathiane Araujo NR Brazil REDE TRANS

Alejandra Soto NR Chile Amanda Jofré

Daniela Maldonado NR Colombia Red Comunitaria Trans

Dayana Hernández NR Costa Rica TRANSVIDA

Rashell Erazo NR Ecuador Aso. ALFIL

Ruby Corado Directora Casa Ruby LGBT Washington DC

Mónica Linares NR El Salvador ASPIDH Arcoiris

Stacy Velasquez NR Guatemala OTRANS

Yaisah Val NR Haiti ACIFVH

Gabriela Redondo NR Honduras Colectivo Unidad Color Rosa

Paty Betancourt NR Mexico Red Mexicana de Mujeres

Yadira Gómez NR Nicaragua SITRADOVTRANS

Venus Tejada NR Panama APPT

Viki Acosta NR Paraguay PANAMBI

Miluska Luzquiños NR Peru Trans Org. Feminista

Nairovi Castillo NR Dominican Republic COTRAVEDT

Brandy Rodriguez RN Trinidad and Tobago TTTC

Karina Pankievich RN Uruguay ATRU

National Representative (NR)

“STOP KILLING US” 2019-2020 REGIONAL REPORT

1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 2. REDLACTRANS ............................................................................................. 1 2.1. CeDoSTALC (Center for the Documentation and Situation of Trans People in Latin America and the Caribbean) .................................................. 2 3. Method for surveying cases and drafting this report ................................ 3 4. Political background and human rights of transgender people across the region ................................................................................................................ 6 4.1. The ideology of hatred, a key aspect of the regional context ............. 22 4.2. State of affairs and human rights violations against transgender rights ............................................................................................................... 24 5. Review and recommendations to the media ........................................... 39 6. Recommendations to Latin American and Caribbean States .................. 44 7. Bibliography ............................................................................................... 47

“STOP KILLING US” 2019-2020 REGIONAL REPORT

1. Introduction “Stop Killing Us” is a report that describes and records the main human rights violations against the transgender population in Latin America and the Caribbean based on the information surveyed in 2019 (characterized by the different political changes across the region) and 2020 (marked by the lack of state response to the COVID-19 crisis mainly affecting the trans community). This report was drafted by the National Transgender Rights Organizations (hereinafter, “NTROs”) from the 26 countries where REDLACTRANS (Latin American and Caribbean Network of Trans People) is present; namely Argentina, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

These years were no exception to the hate crimes and institutional violence that we have been reporting to the different national, regional and international authorities.

The information gathered in this report is the result of the analysis of first-hand accounts shared by trans persons who suffered any type of violation of their rights, exposing the violence, prejudices and discrimination suffered by our bodies.

Each account was recorded to boost visibility because there are stories longing to become visible to a society that is blind to our reality and governments that fail to include the issues affecting our lives in any agenda.

Thus, Stop Killing Us depicts an appalling reality that needs to be told; it is an urgent claim among the extremely harsh reality to which trans people are exposed due to the lack of government response.

2. REDLACTRANS REDLACTRANS was created in 2004 and currently comprises 23 organizations led by trans women to promote and ensure that transgender women are their own representatives and speak for themselves. It embraces the principles of inclusion and participation without discrimination of any kind, especially focused on gender equality and respect for ethnic groups, gender identities and expressions, age, home country and socio-economic and cultural conditions.

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At present, REDLACTRANS has offices in Argentina, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

The purpose of our work is to enforce compliance with, and exercise of, human rights for transgender people through strategies of political influence, awareness, participation and strengthening of our organizations, which include health, education and justice initiatives. Thus, our vision is a region without discrimination and violence that respects our gender identity and our access to health, education and justice.

In this regard, the different reports drafted by REDLACTRANS have raised awareness of the abundant violations suffered by the transgender population on a daily basis, and contributed to expand the political influence of its member organizations. We have also submitted 2016-2017 regional report “Waiting to die” in the 167th and 169th Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held in 2018 in Bogotá, Colombia, and Colorado, Denver, USA; the “Suggested Guidelines for the Provision of Comprehensive Healthcare for Trans Women in Latin America and the Caribbean” to Mexican health authorities and activists in Guadalajara, Mexico, in January 2019, and in the meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2019; as well as the 2018 regional report “Stop Trans Genocide” in the 49 Regular Session of the Organization of American States General Assembly held in Medellín, Colombia, in June 2019.

Before this report was prepared and during the lockdown set by the different regional countries as a measure to contain COVID-19 spread, we launched the virtual report “Las vidas Trans en tiempos de pandemia” (Trans lives in times of pandemic). Through this report, we examine the situation lived by the trans community in Latin America and the Caribbean, and report the extreme poverty and social exclusion to which trans people are exposed due to the lack of public policies and political will to mitigate the stigma and structural discrimination against our bodies.

2.1. CeDoSTALC (Latin America and the Caribbean transgender rights reporting office) In the region, there is very little knowledge and information on the social conditions of the transgender population. In 2015, the Inter-American Commission on Human 2

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Rights recommended that statistical data on the violence exerted on the LGBT population in Latin America and the Caribbean be systematically collected. In general, the few statistics available pinpoint that one of the most extreme expressions of prejudice and discrimination against the transgender population in Latin America is the violence inflicted by the society and institutions. Even though violence in Latin America and the Caribbean affects the population as a whole, trans people suffer it in a disproportionate manner because they are victims of hate crimes and these crimes go unpunished. Social stigma and discrimination escalate when trans people get HIV-AIDS, which is a major barrier that prevents access to treatment and support services.

To fight this, REDLACTRANS created the CeDoSTALC, which offers first-hand information based on the reports on human rights violations suffered by the transgender community across the region.

CeDoSTALC was conceived as a community system to gather information about, monitor and provide an answer to the barriers restricting transgender rights. Such a system is anchored in a virtual platform that collects cases and enables the circulation and centralization of information from NTROs and the Regional Secretary Office of REDLACTRANS. To implement the CeDoSTALC, REDLACTRANS carried out programs aimed at training transgender women to document human rights violations in their countries.

This strategy guarantees a successful documentation due to the direct contact with the target population.

REDLACTRANS acknowledges the support from the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund in documenting and preparing this report. This process showed that the joint work of different organizations is the strategy that will guarantee the continuity of CeDoSTALC to prevent human rights violations suffered by trans women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

3. Method for surveying cases and drafting this report This report is the result of the work carried out by REDLACTRANS activists to document the human rights violations they have to put up with every day. The ultimate goal is to raise awareness on this situation to show the events across the region. Based on their work, many reports and three regional reports presenting the 3

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conditions of the trans community in different regions have been drafted. The first report, “Waiting for Death,” covers 2016 and 2017; the second document, “Stop Trans Genocide,” spans 2018, and this report, “Stop Killing Us,” examines 2019.

These are solid reports to revert the historical context of violence and prejudice that have characterized our population.

The data collection is aimed at overcoming, as far as possible, the current lack of public data on the conditions of the transgender population in Latin America and the Caribbean. This is of utmost urgency in those cases in which governments not only fail to provide a solution to the lack of relevant data and encourage the involvement of transgender rights organizations in this kind of studies but also fail to provide any kind of support for them through data systematization, posing a challenge for future studies.

The data analyzed, albeit real and specific, are insufficient to show the real picture clearly since it is impossible to document thoroughly all human rights violations suffered by trans women in the region on a daily basis. This may be the result of several factors, among which we can mention the alarming level of rights violations; the efforts to conceal this situation from individuals and governments; the restricted access to justice; and, in general, the courses of action taken by governments, and the lack of confidence from the transgender community.

As explained while introducing the methodology applied to draft the regional reports for 2016-2017 and 2018, all reports are the result of a long history of community work from national coordinators. During the Regional Workshop held in Buenos Aires in April 2017, REDLACTRANS national coordinators agreed on the criteria to be applied by each subregion (South Cone, Andes and Central America) to conduct surveying, documenting and systematization tasks. In addition, the form used to document violations was reviewed and validated and was used by all NTROs. Based on this input, REDLACTRANS implemented a software according to the needs of the transgender population. By the end of 2018, this software suffered security breaches so the creator decided to recall it. Consequently, the Regional Secretary Office of REDLACTRANS decided to design a proprietary platform to continue the work performed by trans recorders, which is fully operational as from May 2019.

In May 2017, REDLACTRANS carried out a training workshop to document cases of human rights violations in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, where Latin American human rights promoters were trained to collect cases and enter them into the virtual system. This workshop was the beginning of a documentation process 4

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governed by the use of standardized tools across the region so that all cases were documented applying the same criteria.

Two months later, a pilot test was conducted to begin the documentation process in 17 countries. The activist of each NTRO started collecting cases of human rights violations against trans women in their territories.

In this regard, NTROs have a comprehensive knowledge of the information to be collected in their countries where transgender rights activists live and suffer human rights abuses, as well as work to design own intervention devices to fight these violations suffered first hand.

In addition, recording tasks were coordinated and supervised by the Regional Secretary Office based in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. As part of the control stage of this process, the Political Influence Subregional Workshop was held in Quito in September 2017, and in the city of Mexico in October 2017 to identify obstacles and lessons learned throughout the first months of the process.

The regional reports, “Waiting to die” and “Stop Trans Genocide”, and this report “Stop killing us” examining 2016-2017, 2018 and 2019-2020, respectively, were prepared based on the input provided and systematized in the reports drafted by NTROs. Thus, this report is a situational analysis of human rights violations against the transgender community across the region. It proposes a series of recommendations for Latin American governments to provide trans people with the necessary means to effectively enjoy all their rights, which they have been deprived of for too long.

In this sense, Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator, reveals the current situation lived by the trans community: “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the harsh reality endured by the trans community for years; we have been living in lockdown for many years now as we can’t go to the supermarket, we can’t even walk the street without fear of violence; that is lockdown and we have been living it for a very long time.”

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4. Political background and human rights of transgender people across the region To draw a clear picture of the legislative advances made at the national level, the Regional Secretary Office of REDLACTRANS gathered the accounts of NTRO representatives.

This exercise will highlight some key characteristics of the national context to understand the major complications faced by trans people at global level due to the lack of access to human rights, the lack of legal recognition undermining our identities and lack of political will to include us in the design and approval of programs to support vulnerable populations. Below we break down access to human rights by trans people per country.

ARGENTINA No legal developments took place in 2019. It marked the last year of implementation of neoliberal policies; it was a period signaled by severe setbacks in trans persons’ guarantees and access to human rights. The tight budget and lack of political will mainly affected trans people.

In 2020, despite the change in administration, the lives of transgender people have been doubly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the presidential decree that introduced the mandatory lockdown was issued, trans people lost their jobs and were deprived of access to food or hygiene and cleaning products.

In early September 2020, Alberto Fernández, through Presidential Decree No. 721/2020, established the hiring quota in the public sector for transgender people, ensuring that at least 1% of all positions and employment contracts be earmarked for cross-dressers, transsexual and transgender individuals. Several sectors expanded their headcount hiring trans people but as of the date of issuance of this report, there have been no major changes and the transgender community remains excluded from the formal employment system.

Even though this decree has been a significant step, it is not enough. Hence, Argentina’s NTRO, the ATTTA (Asociación de Travestis, Transexuales y Transgéneros de Argentina) brought forward Comprehensive Trans Bill that proposes a series of measures and programs to provide trans people with access to comprehensive health, education, work, justice, reparations and housing, among others. The bill is being reviewed in Congress and we expect it to be debated so that trans human 6

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rights are enforced.

Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator and ATTTA President stated: “The state still owes us; human rights violations against the trans community during the dictatorship and democracy have not been repaired yet. We should no longer ask for permission; Comprehensive Trans Law should make no concessions. We can’t settle with a quota; otherwise, trans women over 35 will be left out.” (M. Romero, personal communication, November 2020) Moreover, the hate crimes and institutional violence suffered by the trans community prevent us from focusing on specific actions related to access to human rights.

As explained by Marcela Romero, “Without budgets, real inclusion and political will, trans people in Argentina remain victims of an oppressive system that pushes us into secrecy and poverty.” (M. Romero, personal communication, November 2020) BAHAMAS The situation of the transgender population is unstable and complex. As mentioned by national representative Alexus D'Marco, “we should have the right to live peacefully and be at ease with who we are. We should live in a country with laws in place and political will, and as Bahamian citizens we are entitled to such right; should there be a legal vacuum, we need to claim our rights” (A. D'Marco, personal communication, November 2020). For example, name change is a vested right.

However, gender change in personal IDs is not. There is a great lack of government support. Trans people in Bahamas can work and circulate based on their gender expression. Unfortunately, due to stigma and discrimination, there are no job opportunities, which increases poverty and social exclusion for a population that has no support and is left to marginalization and forced migration.

BARBADOS The situation faced by the transgender population is extremely delicate in Barbados.

Laws in force still criminalize transgender or LGBTI+ identities. The 2020 Employment and Nondiscrimination Law was debated. Although there were efforts to protect transgender identities, the trans community was not included in the debate and is still discriminated against and expelled from employment opportunities on the basis of gender identity and expression.

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Same-sex marriage is being debated; should it be approved, it will serve as a strong precedent and will mark great progress for the entire LGBT+ population. As mentioned by Barbados’ national representative Alexa Hoffman: “In my opinion, this is a particularly important issue for trans people as it may affect our ability to share any stock of wealth accumulated during our life with the person with whom we built a home or should anything unexpected happen to us” (A. Hoffman, personal communication, November 2020). Under current regulations, a person is required to be acquainted with the legal terms and evidence good mental health and financial resources to draft their last will and testament where they can appoint their partners as executors and main beneficiaries after the death of a spouse.

BELIZE There were no legal advances in Belize benefiting or favoring the full development of trans people. As in many countries, the lack of government response during the COVID-19 pandemic completely halted the initiatives planned. The year 2020 was characterized by a change in government; for example, the bill on equal opportunities was not reviewed and passed to Parliament as it was fiercely resisted by religious sectors. This bill is essential because, in addition to combating discrimination, it advocates the respect of self-perceived gender identity. The government did not consider the obstacles faced by the transgender population to access the benefits other Belizeans are entitled to, such as personal IDs, social security benefits or unfair dismissal rights. No HIV healthcare protocols have been established; should trans people need to access the system, they can only get it through different NGOs. Finally, COVID-19 testing has heightened discrimination against transgender people.

BOLIVIA In 2019, Bolivia was immersed in a deep political crisis. The government was overthrown and an interim administration supported by the military took office. The Presidency was occupied by a person with controversial opinions on transgender people, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. In 2020, during the toughest months of the COVID-19 pandemic, transgender people had no government support whatsoever or social assistance to buy food. In September 2020, the Socialist Movement won presidential elections; as mentioned by Bolivia’s national representative Rayza Torriani “In the campaign for presidential elections, the Socialist Movement was the only party that invited the social and most vulnerable movements, particularly the trans community, to be part of their agendas 8

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to build an equal citizenship” (R. Torriani, personal communication, November 2020). The transgender population currently expects new and better public policies in their favor.

BRAZIL Over the past few years, the trans community in Brazil has witnessed a lot of fight and resistance against a conservative government characterized by religion-based hate speech.

In 2020, we registered 184 transgender deaths, up by 50.82% with respect to 2019, in which 122 transgender deaths were registered. In 2019, 97% of those deaths involved transgender women, and 26% were white transgender women. Also, all registered murders involved cross-dressers and transgender women. The suicide rate does not reflect the actual scenario since many suicide cases are not informed and some are not reported to authorities. A total of 17 cases of suicide were registered in 2019. Moreover, it is impossible to identify a specific reason for the dramatic increase in murder cases in 2020. Due to the pandemic, people are supposed to stay home for their own safety. However, most cross-dressers and transgender women needed to work the streets to secure their income, even though they faced the risk of contracting coronavirus.

In addition, the NTRO mentioned the unprecedented achievements made by the trans population through the Judicial branch. The Brazilian Supreme Court upheld that Congress made an unconstitutional omission by failing to enact a law criminalizing homophobic and transphobic acts. Therefore, and after the trial on the Direct Action for the Declaration of Unconstitutionality by Omission No. 26 was held, the Supreme Court voted to include homophobia and transphobia as criminal offenses according to Anti-Racism Law No. 7716/1989 until the Brazilian Congress passes a law in this regard.

Another precedent is that in 2018, the Supreme Court ratified its understanding authorizing trans people to change their names in the Civil Registry without the need for a sex reassignment surgery. Trans persons’ autonomy and decision is sufficient to make the direct change in the Records Office.

CHILE The social and political situation of trans persons in Chile was seriously worsened by 9

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the social context lived over the past two years. The last quarter of 2019 shook Sebastián Piñera’s administration. Different social groups raised their voice to demand more equality. They demanded that the Constitution that is a legacy of the Pinochet’s de facto government be amended.

Despite Gender Identity Law (2018), Chilean trans people still face barriers hindering access to human rights. As in other countries across the region, access to justice and the right to self-perceived gender identity are one of the major changes Amanda Jofré has been working on by sensitizing law enforcement forces.

The social and political situation of transgender people in Chile was aggravated by the social upheaval in 2019, mainly for economic reasons, which has grown worse with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. According to the national representative from the Amanda Jofré organization, more than 95% of Chilean and immigrant population have been affected by the social upheaval and the absence of government action. In 2020, the COVID-19 situation meant a recoil in the entire transgender agenda with political incidence in the government. However, the Amanda Jofré national organization has grown stronger and gained public attention because it was the transgender organization that provided humanitarian assistance to the transgender population, including elderly and correctional populations. Social demonstrations claimed a new National Constitution and, in October 2020, by means of a plebiscite, more than 70% of the population voted for a change. For the first time, the new Constitution will be drafted by an elected group of people (members of the Constitutional Convention) and Chilean transgender representatives will strive to exert political influence to advance transgender human rights.

The Chilean NTRO is still working on enforcing the human rights of trans people, as well as on approving a Comprehensive Trans Law ensuring access to all rights.

COLOMBIA The Colombian transgender community claims concrete action. In 2020, 32 transgender people were victims of hate crimes and inexistent government action.

Most of these people are under 30. All crimes remain unpunished and subject to no investigation or criminal proceedings. Once again, a situation characterized by total absence of concrete government action as there is no political or institutional will.

The Colombian representative of REDLACTRANS and Red Comunitaria Trans (Trans Community Network) states that the organization has raised public awareness of these cases and highlights the role played by some media as allies in this effort.

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However, there is no answer from the government to date. As stated by the NTRO, “they are exterminating us because we are building ourselves as free women.” Also, 50% of the 388 registered cases of violence and discrimination involve different sorts of violence against transgender people.

There is total government absence as it fails to investigate deaths, it cremates bodies and closes cases in which perpetrators go unpunished. As in many countries within the region, there are no official data analyzing whether the human rights of trans people are enforced in Colombia.

As published by the NTROs in their social networks, according to data published by the Human Rights Direction of the Secretary of State, 8% of cases of police violence in Bogotá are related to trans people. This figure is alarming if we consider that we ignore the total number of trans people living in the capital of Colombia where the cases of violence and human rights violations are reported and trans people continue to be the target of intimidation and threats upon filing the report.

COSTA RICA There have been no political changes or legislative developments to favor the transgender population.

In 2017, Costa Rica set a major precedent for trans people across the region. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, through Advisory Opinion OC-24/17, highlighted that States are obliged to refrain from carrying out actions that might in any way be aimed to create, whether directly or indirectly, situations of discrimination de jure or de facto, considering that the notion of equality is inseparable from a person’s key dignity. In other words, States should adopt all legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure equal access to human rights and nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Although it is true that Advisory Opinion OC24/17 has been approved, there are still significant human rights violations since the transgender population still has to bear with birth certificates indicating names they do not identify with. The same happens with personal IDs, which fail to recognize the gender with which the transgender population identifies. This leaves a great room for discrimination. During the COVID19 pandemic, the violation of transgender human rights worsened. We were greatly affected by the restrictions and decrease in the number of clients, limiting our income; many trans women were unable to pay rent and were evicted from hotels or 11

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rooming houses. There is also a sharp increase in street violence against the transgender population. In December, a fellow transgender woman was murdered for engaging in sex work. Moreover, newspapers maliciously ignored her gender identity and expression. Xenophobia towards the migrant transgender population has also increased and the government has provided no support. The transgender population has not been covered by any assistance plan during and after lockdown.

ECUADOR There have been no political or human rights changes to benefit or favor the transgender population. On the contrary, the recognition of transgender children through the Amanda Case is still under discussion in court, even after filing an amicus curiae brief. Also, the government has ceased all communication and cooperation with the transgender and LGBTI movement, and the response to transgender femicides are more and more deficient.

EL SALVADOR During 2019 and after the change in administration, the public agenda on human rights has seen no progress. Thus, the initiatives for the transgender population carried out in coordination with different government agencies have ceased. The new administration closed the Department of Social Inclusion, so the Direction of Sexual Diversity, which was the liaison between the civil society and the government, ceased to exist. The monitoring made to ensure public fulfillment of Executive Decree No. 56 on nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression also ceased to exist. This lack of political will dramatically affects trans people requesting access to health, employment or education.

In 2019, advocacy efforts were made to advance passing of Gender Identity Law. The draft bill is still under “review” by the Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the Legislative Assembly. More specific actions are planned for 2020, such as the claim of unconstitutionality with the Supreme Court of El Salvador given the lawmakers’ negligence and lack of interest in debating the bill drafted and backed by the organizations.

As described by El Salvador’s national representative, transgender people were left totally exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which evidences the violation of their human rights. No decent health services can be accessed and the self12

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perceived identity of trans people is violated daily as there are no protocols or public policies in place, increasing the cases of discrimination and stigma. Moreover, Salvadorans were confined due to the militarization during the state of emergency recording thousands of cases of institutional violence.

The national report issued by the NTRO of El Salvador states that during the mandatory lockdown, 86.3% of trans women suffered rights violations.

Although article 3 of El Salvador’s Constitution establishes the principle of equality and nondiscrimination, trans women are not entitled to the same rights as the rest of the population, such as the guarantee to freely exercise the power of selfdetermination of the right to personal and sexual identity, an inherent expression of human dignity, key to comprehensive development. When the state fails to ensure the freedom of being who we are, it affects the enjoyment of all human rights and access to a minimum quality of life.

THE UNITED STATES The report included below arises from a series of interviews conducted by the Regional Secretary Office of REDLACTRANS to Washington representative from May through July 2020: •

TORTURES AND VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGTHS AGAINST THE TRANS COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES How can they identify us if we are not even identified with our own gender when locked up? This was a question made by REDLACTRANS US representative with IACHR commissioners in 2019.

The situation faced by migrant trans people is complex and, even worse, when combined with marginalizing and discriminatory immigration policies as is the case in the United States.

The situation lived by African American trans women is also very complex; in addition to being victims of hate crimes and discrimination on the basis of gender, they are victims of the racism that mistreats and kills trans people in the United States.

Ruby Corado, founder of Casa Ruby, asserted: “We became aware of cases of trans people who are victims of state and social genocide accounting for the total lack of

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public policies and political will to solve this problem.” (R. Colorado, personal communication, July 2020) On the one hand, we see a broken immigration system riddled with prejudice against trans people, subjecting them to high rates of employment insecurity, poverty, health risks and inequality. Being both trans and immigrant means suffering from double discrimination as a minority, encountering barriers that hinder access to essential human rights and exposing them to higher violent risks. These areas of conflict and discrimination are an obstacle to the full participation of transgender immigrants in society and poses more obstacles to reach legal status.

These situations worsen during a global crisis, such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They deepen and there are no tools to reduce damages.

Today, the transgender community has raised more public awareness than ever in the United States and the whole world. Unfortunately, they are subject to a proportional amount of violence.

This is evidenced by the violence and threats against Casa Ruby’s Director and transgender activist for the efforts made by the LGBTIQ Community Center to raise public awareness. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case.

• FORCED MIGRATION AND INSTITUTIONAL VIOLENCE As we have already reported in 2019, the situation faced by trans people migrating to the United States in hope of better conditions is alarming.

In principle, there are cases of abuse and disappearance of trans people who leave their hometown and try to get to the United States. There is no country collaboration to obtain data and real information on these people so the number of trans deaths related to the “migrant caravan” is unknown.

Once in US soil, there is a revictimization of trans people by the different consulates.

This is a violation of the protectionist laws of the countries of origin by failing to provide documentation or access channels to justice for trans people. With no documentation, the possibilities of achieving the legal recognition of gender identity are nil.

• TRANS PEOPLE IN PRISON Trans people that arrive at the borders informally are detained and undergo a traumatic situation that violates their human rights.

- As part of the policies implemented by US law enforcement forces, the people 14

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who suffer trauma or symptoms affecting their mental health do not go to jail.

However, in the case of trans people, this does not happen; they are directly locked up in cells.

- Trans people are transferred to state jails in which there is no sensitivity training to ensure the decent treatment of the LGBT+ population. In this context, trans people are crowded together in men blocks where they are sexually abused.

- Even though there is a manual on how to deal with LGBT+ people, it is not used. Trans people do not undergo medical checks, which is the first and main state violation.

- In this context, a trans immigrant person may be locked up from 3 to 5 years with no contact with the outside world.

This broken system damages 99% of trans people suffering from this situation and once they regain freedom, they are prone to having suicidal tendencies, developing substance abuse and engaging in sex work for survival.

The cycle repeats itself. Sex work is penalized and, as a consequence, trans people are taken back to jail.

• PERSECUTION, RACISM AND HATE CRIMES It is estimated that 40% of the transgender population are African American or Afrodescendants, and 10% are Latin American. In the land of “dreams and freedom”, sexism and patriarchy also kill.

Hate and gender crimes are also based on racism and xenophobia. Black trans people are killed for breaking the cultural stereotypes that suggest that “all men are strong” and that their role in society is related to a hypermasculinization of their identities. Latino and Latina transgender are hypersexualized, persecuted and killed.

• COVID-19 AND TRANS RESISTANCE In April 2020, the trans community in the region was shocked by the news of the death of trans activist Lorena Borjas due to COVID-19. Her case appeared in the media as she advocated for the human rights of migrants in the Unites States after being arrested for false accusations of sex work and human trafficking.

It is estimated that, between March and April, approximately 20 transgender people died of COVID-19, but, unfortunately, there is no record or information in this regard.

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Trans people received no recommendations or government assistance to respond to this global crisis and emergency. They are also unable to build assistance and support networks because communications may be interpreted as support to informal immigration and brought to trial and punished for human trafficking. This is the ordeal of being both migrant and trans.

GUATEMALA The cases of human rights violations are no exception in Guatemala. Elections were held in 2019 and they were characterized by an unfavorable political context for transgender people because the main candidates were aligned with conservative and religious right-wingers that promoted a hatred-based ideology.

As from 2020, trans people are ruled by a conservative administration which main leader is explicitly against women’s rights and sexual diversity. Trans people and the LGBT+ community are not recognized as citizens with guarantees and access to human rights.

OTRANS published the results of the survey “Violencia simbólica a mujeres Trans en tiempos de COVID-19 en Guatemala 2020” (symbolic violence against trans women in times of COVID-19 in Guatemala in 2020) and concluded as follows: -

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57.4% of trans women surveyed are aged 18 to 30 and 33% are aged from 31 to 40.

85.8% of women surveyed self-identify as mestizo.

From this group of trans women surveyed: 31.25% currently engage in sex work; 18.75% in informal trade, and 16.47% are unemployed.

A total of 7 out of 10 did not receive public health services including comprehensive care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 out of 10 do not turn to turn to health services for fear of stigma and discrimination.

9 out of 10 trans women were affected by curfew and received no program aids or family subsidies.

7 out of 10 turn to OTRANS to report cases of symbolic violence or discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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HAITI The situation of transgender people in Haiti is highly damaged by fundamentalist religious sectors. Although there were not many advances or changes in legislation, the NTRO of Haiti mentioned that after the dissolution of Congress, the President announced two Presidential Decrees, one of which seems to favor trans identities.

This order is expected to allow the transgender population to change their names, but it is highly ambiguous in this sense. The June 2020 decree was highly rejected by religious groups that launched a demonizing campaign heightening violence and discrimination against trans people.

In Haiti, gender identity is still confused with sexual orientation, and transgender Haitians face discrimination and ostracism from cisgender people, both heterosexual and homosexual. On the one hand, transgender people are discriminated against by the cisgender heterosexual community because they are associated with homosexual men and women; on the other, they are rejected by the LGB cisgender community because it is believed that they bring shame to them due to their “eccentric gender breach.” Haiti’s NTRO, ACIFVH (Community Action for the Integration of Vulnerable People in Haiti) created the first shelter for transgender people, KayTrans Ayiti, in 2019. This institution provides food, shelter, psychological assessment and support, legal advice, and HIV testing and treatment for 10 transgender persons without government support to finance their activities and provide support to more transgender people.

HONDURAS The trans community of Honduras has no legal protection. A gender identity bill was introduced but it is subject to constant amendments that hinder its debate and passing.

In 2020, this bill is still pending debate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastation caused by climate conditions and the lack of political will.

In 2019, section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Honduras was reformed and the penalty and fine for discrimination was reduced. This reform mainly benefits public and private officers who continue trampling on trans people. The national representative for Honduras, Gabriela Redondo, stated that the structural problem affects the entire LGBT+ population, but mainly affects trans lives.

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During 2019-2020, hate crimes rose; the political system uses trans identities during election campaigns and then discards them; the health system is decadent. The representative herself was a victim of this situation as she was discriminated against by police officers during the pandemic while looking for food to support her family.

MEXICO Several bills to grant legal recognition to transgender identities have been introduced. In 2019, bills were introduced in the States of Coahuilia, Colima, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí and Tlaxcala. In 2020, the advocacy action focused on: Jalisco, Sonora and Quintana Roo. Political and government changes affected trans people. In 2019, amendments and cuts were introduced to the National Budget, which caused many of the programs that were coordinated with NGOs, including the CENSIDA (National Center to Fight AIDS), to be put on hold.

Political and government changes have also affected transgender people. In 2019, there were federal budget amendments and cuts, and several programs with civil associations lost momentum. In 2020, this situation kept affecting transgender access and human rights since the continuous budget cuts devastated the health sector and, consequently, there was no medication for people living with HIV. NICARAGUA The lives of trans people in Nicaragua are marked by profound invisibility. The Nicaraguan NTRO referred to the lack of public programs and policies providing answers to the problems affecting the transgender population. As mentioned by the national representative Yadira Gómez, “trans people tried to raise their voices to underscore the needs affecting all sexually diverse people” (Y. Gómez, personal communication, November 2020).

There is a single resolution in place that attempts to fight discrimination. The national representative detailed that government programs are aimed at solving cisgender heterosexual problems. Besides, the current administration has shown no interest in generating social changes to shatter taboos about the LGBTI+ population given the decriminalization of homosexuality in 2008. There is no access in Nicaragua to comprehensive transgender healthcare and the only efforts made attempt to respond to HIV. Stigma and discrimination also affect trans female sex workers. Gender violence is an issue that has not been open to debate. There is a total lack of awareness by

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decision makers on the lack of access to economic, political, social, cultural and environmental rights by the trans population.

PANAMA The situation of transgender people has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the placement of restrictions. The institutional violence lived by trans people who had to leave their houses to look for food or hygiene items during the first months of the pandemic shows the importance and pressing need of enacting a Gender Identity Law. Presidential Decree No. 507 established specific days and times for people to leave their homes based on the gender indicated in their personal identification documents; therefore, transgender people whose self-perceived identities are not legally recognized suffered police abuse when demanded to exhibit their personal IDs. Through the account made by national representative Venus Tejada we found out that 50 women and men changed their names in Panama’s Election Court. Advocacy actions to implement Same-Sex Marriage Law are also in place; should such law be enacted, it is expected to benefit trans people by recognizing their human right to start a family and profit from marriage benefits.

PARAGUAY In spite of living in a deeply conservative and sexist society, organized transgender people have played a part in a series of advances and debates aimed at improving their quality of life in terms of access to human rights for all transgender people.

In 2020, a year characterized by the COVID-19 crisis, it became evident that trans people are ignored in state strategies and contingency plans to support vulnerable populations. As mentioned by national representative Viki Acosta, trans people are “orphans” of an absent state.

Even so, in 2019, the NTRO participated in the Multisectoral Committee aimed at fostering dialog between government and civil society institutions. Among other topics, this committee fosters debate and exerts influence to pave the way to investigations that evidence the barriers to transgender people’s access to education, employment, health care and social protection.

Some achievements made by the NTRO are the approval of Ministry of Public Defense Resolution addressing respect for gender identity in the access to justice by

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LGBTI+ persons, and the conclusion of an agreement with the Ministry of Justice to work jointly with incarcerated trans population.

PERU The political and human rights situation in Peru is the main barrier hindering the access to human rights. The only bill in favor of the transgender population is the Gender Identity Bill introduced in 2016, which has not yet left the Women and Constitution Committee, where it is pending consideration and voting.

This is due to the delicate political context Peru is immersed in. Besides, the parties that opposed the bill argue that trans people’s IDs contain information that is not related to their true identity. The ID includes the name assigned at birth and the biological sex with which people are born and registered in civil registries. This information is related to the objective element of the right to identity, which does not remain static but is dynamic. Both lawmakers and public officers consider that the sex registered in the ID is the biological sex.

Therefore, when trans people grow up and feel that the information recorded in their documents does not match their identity there are problems in amending such information, mainly because even today the methods for carrying out these changes are not clear and may even depend on the wishes of a third party in tiresome court proceedings.

At present, due to the political crisis, the work performed by the civil association gained no momentum at all. This is a major setback, especially in gender identity recognition matters due to the constant efforts invested by anti-rights groups who reject any gender-related initiative.

As mentioned by national representative Miluska Luzquiños, “we should consider that there are almost no frameworks to protect the human rights of trans women” (M. Luzquiños, personal communication, July 2020).

The only resource that we have is Decree No. 1323 against hate crimes and femicides. This decree consolidates the fight against femicides, family violence and gender violence. This decree, that sets forth that “committing a crime for motives of intolerance or discrimination, such as origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic factors, affiliation, age, disability, language, ethnics and cultural identity, clothes, opinion, economic status or other” is an aggravating factor, tried to be abrogated by Fujimori followers in an effort to remove gender violence, sexual orientation and gender identity from protective provisions. The abrogation 20

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was partially approved and Congress was subsequently dissolved. National representative Miluska Luzquiños stated: “This situation is important. It may serve as a precedent for the cases proposed” (M. Luzquiños, personal communication, July 2020). She refers to an alliance with the Ministry of Justice and Women that acknowledges that trans women are women and that their vulnerability exposes them to hate crimes on the basis of gender identity.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Transgender people are subject to alarmingly high level of gender-based violence.

Moreover, they are victims of the most atrocious hate crimes. In 2019, the NTRO of this country issued the “Human Rights National Plan”, which demanded Congress pass the Equality and Non-Discrimination Law. This bill establishes the inclusion of transgender people in the GLBTIQ community of the Dominican Republic, where it is transgender women who make contributions to advance access to human rights for the whole population. In 2020, the bill was introduced in Congress with the support of representative Juan Dionisio. This initiative does not only benefit the GLBTIQ community, it focuses on the protection of different vulnerable groups.

There are no parliament protocols or programs favoring trans people; the NTRO is conducting several actions to promote public policies from different Ministries of Government Services concerning education, health and employment to include transgender people.

There was a change in administration in the last period, which resulted in a paradigm shift after 16 years of the same political ideology. Trans people in the Dominican Republic were never considered in national plans, let alone the government’s or social services’ agenda. The NTRO highlights that they mainly receive support from international agencies to assist the community or strengthen political actions advocating for human rights.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO For transgender people living in Trinidad and Tobago, there are no parliamentary initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life or access to transgender human rights.

Hate crimes and violence on the basis of gender mainly affect trans people and those who receive no answers from the state or security personnel.

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We have learned from the NTRO of the increasing loss and lack of employment opportunities for transgender people, as well as the absence of employment legislation that promotes their inclusion. In this sense, a reform is necessary to grant access to the health care system, and provide greater support to trans people who are entitled to the same rights as any other citizen.

URUGUAY In Uruguay, the situation of the transgender population has been dramatically affected by the change in administration between 2019 and 2020. For the Uruguayan transgender community, 2019 was marked by a strong government presence and opportunities to participate in government projects and public service exams. Trans people were included in public policies and received firm support to consolidate and promote the sustainability of the trans movement. With the change in administration in 2020, transgender people are once again victims of hate speech since the new agenda is pro-life; that is, it promotes the views held by fundamentalist religious sectors. There is a major cut in the budget allocated to social, education and health spending, and no more programs to include vulnerable populations were designed.

In 2019, the plebiscite for the Comprehensive Transgender Law passed in 2018 was rejected. The continuity in force of this law constitutes a milestone in the fight ensued in other countries in which it is still important to ensure trans people access to economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. We need to assert children and youth right protection and the right to have a decent adult life.

The progress and setbacks experienced in 2020 set the tone of what governments do and what type of governments they are. Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator, asserts: “There are governments that buy weapons to kill instead of buying ventilators to save lives; this pandemic evidenced which governments provide an actual answers and which governments invest in health.”

4.1. The ideology of hatred, a key aspect of the regional context “Governments need to understand that whenever a transgender person dies in a hospital or a hotel room, it is a hate crime because the state is absent. We also need judicial systems to understand what hate crimes against transgender women are.”

Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator.

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Throughout the region, transgender persecution by the government and society is normalized. This is rooted in the society and folklore (REDLACTRANS, 2014) to such an extent that the abuses suffered by trans women are legitimized, and hinder their ability to live a full life, even in countries where there are no explicit regulations criminalizing transgender people.

Even though stigma and discrimination, as well as institutional and gender violence against the trans community is systematic and historical, some parameters directly affect human rights and give rise to pretexts based on religion, life protection and good customs. Some states insist on maintaining or applying laws against transgender rights.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns established in Latin America and the Caribbean, gender-based violence and transfemicides have skyrocketed.

Mandatory confinements and curfews have facilitated the extreme violence lived by women across the region, especially transgender women. An example is the transfemicide of Karla Valentina Camarena del Castillo, Coordinator of the Mexican Network of Trans Women in Guanajuato State, on March 29, 2021, in strict quarantine. The Mexican digital newspaper Periodismo y Opinión Pública reads as follows: “The shooting to death of a transgender activist evidences another sector that will be left defenseless when the streets are emptied due to the COVID-19 crisis.”

Regarding Karla’s case, Rubí Suárez Araujo, the first transgender councilwoman in Mexico and Latin America, highlighted that the report of relevant facts drafted by Guanajuato State Attorney General described the deceased as “male” and insisted that the way of recognizing trans people must be changed and demanded the implementation of gender protocols: “Not even dead are we entitled to the right of being recognized, not even her who fought so bravely for gender identity.”

In this context, REDLACTRANS has reported the extreme violence transgender women are exposed to, warning about the dangers faced by transgender people due to lockdowns and empty streets. We urge governments to adopt a gender-inclusive approach to all public actions and policies to address and provide relief to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this pandemic context, we condemn the Caribbean and Central America states that ignore the risks faced by key populations –trans persons, sex workers and HIV patients– across the region. These populations are in crisis within the crisis and such

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states deny access to identity, health, employment, education and housing with the excuse of protecting family rights.

“What we see in our region are weak democracies and repressive right-wing governments that have reversed our achievements. We have to engage in debate and work with organizations to confront these governments. We need to strengthen our activism and advocacy.” Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator.

Fundamentalist religious groups, which are organized at all levels, have turned their opposition to agendas based on gender equality theories and movements into their slogans to build power. Their expansion, discriminatory campaigns, and power, including offices taken through elections and strong influence in public policy decisions, increase the risks to which transgender people are exposed.

“Anti-rights groups do not want us to start our families, and we already have our families, our identities, and nobody can take that away from us, we have to make them legal. Those who rule our countries breach the law.” Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator.

As noted in our previous regional report, hate speech leads to dehumanization and discrimination, which pave the way for other kinds of crimes (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 2015). Moreover, hate speech leads to the perpetuation of prejudices about transgender people, heightens their vulnerability and stimulates unequal conditions with respect to governments and other sectors.

4.2. State of affairs and human rights violations against transgender rights This section introduces an analysis on the state of affairs of transgender persons in Latin America and the Caribbean focused on the human rights violations documented by CeDoSTALC in 2019.

As already mentioned, it is a snapshot of trans people status across the region; that is, in the absence of resources and support from governments to generate official statistics, civil society transgender organizations created observatories or documentation centers, such as the CeDoSTALC, to collect accurate information based on the accounts of victims.

Marcela Romero, REDLACTRANS Regional Coordinator, stated: “We need to prepare indicators to change reality; women and trans people want to leave the darkness; 24

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we don’t want to be on the corners, we want to and it is our right to enjoy the same rights as everyone else.”

In this case, and to highlight the damage and brutality with which our bodies are mutilated, we asked our national representatives to summarize the salient hate crimes committed in the countries during this period. This strategy will account for the violations to transgender human rights regarding the right to life and personal integrity, access to justice, health, education and employment.

A. RIGHT TO LIFE In the region, transgender people are victims of hate crimes, which account for one of the highest death rates without legal consequences for perpetrators. We classified a series of items showing the type of potential relationship with the victim.

This chart shows the categories mentioned; a great number of these categories is referred to as “OTHER” and will appear in the following chart.

This category, as described by Transgender Recorders, is based on the lack of government action leading to the deaths of transgender people in 2019 and 2020. “Law enforcement forces” is the second category that most greatly affected the right to trans lives, also related to the institutional violence suffered by trans people across the region.

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The following chart shows the types of violations suffered by the transgender population. A total of 42% of the violations registered in the investigation involve extreme violence; that is, murder, beating and rape. Although this figure may be lower than the amount recorded in previous reports, it may be explained by the fact that 25.3% of perpetrators are listed as “OTHERS.” This evidences the absence of government action as the source of the infringement or violation of human rights, which is fairly similar to the information contained in the previous chart.

There is an increase in the violence suffered by the trans community from the media and justice. As long as there are no proper laws securing the respect and recognition of trans identities, all these hate crimes will not be titled and treated accordingly and will continue to heighten the stigma and discrimination practiced by the remainder social institutions.

Furthermore, more than half (53.5%) of the violent acts take place in the streets or in the areas concentrating sex work. The second place (26.5%) are own houses or other private spaces; and the third place involves educational and health care environments.

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Even though street violence is more visible, it does not act as a deterrent for the perpetrators of violent acts. When matching such data with the figures for “perpetrators of violent acts”, almost 40% of these acts are carried out by people or groups vested with powers of force over the victims; i.e., law enforcement forces, military forces, private security companies and criminal groups. This evidences a high level of impunity; it is irrelevant whether these violent acts take place in the streets, what really matters is that these groups have the institutional endorsement or firepower, or both, to leave these acts unpunished.

The second place where most violent acts occur are private spaces; i.e., own house or workplace. There is a relationship between this information and the “perpetrators of violent acts” as 18% of the perpetrators are family members or clients.

As to whether victims file a report, this is a major challenge: trans women die and their identities are not legally recognized or they are not accompanied by their families. Hence, is it actually possible to collect real information based on the small number of reports made?

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According to the following chart, the victims of human rights violations file a criminal complaint. This information is rendered null when we see that most cases are ignored (34.1%). There is no accurate information and trans persons who went to the different organizations to offer testimony of what they have suffered reveal that they do not go to the police station to file the report for fear of retaliation, revictimization or even of being wrongfully accused.

B. ACCESS TO EDUCATION The compulsory education system implemented by democratic states should be secular since moral and religious mandates try to impose specific values that disregard gender or sexual diversity in violation of the right to education of transgender women and promote hate within the population.

The accounts and information collected by the NTROs agree that this situation is caused by the discrimination, violence and abuse suffered by transgender women in educational spheres due to the lack of government initiatives to implement specific gender- and diversity-based policies to address the different types of violence in school settings. The lack of family support is another cause; in many cases, dropouts go hand in hand with transgender women who are thrown out of their houses because they express their selfperceived gender identity.

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From all the cases registered in CeDoSTALC, we found, as in prior reports, a high percentage of primary school dropouts.

The lack of public programs or policies to mitigate this situation is alarming.

The lack of legal recognition of our identities affects and hinders access to education as part of the social, cultural, economic, political and environmental rights that have been historically violated.

If states, among other factors, recognize the right to self-perceived gender identity for all transgender women, “lower dropout levels are registered as more transgender women have resumed their education and discrimination levels have dropped.” Therefore, recognizing the right to the gender identity of transgender persons is undoubtedly the key to guaranteeing any other right (REDLACTRANS, 2014).

C. ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT How can we discuss access to employment if there are no laws or programs to promote trans access?

As already mentioned, most trans women across the region engage in sex work to make a living. The analysis of this situation should also take into account the context: transgender people engaged in sex work are doubly stigmatized and discriminated not only for their gender identity but also for 29

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their profession. This is mainly due to the fact that most countries of the region criminalize sex work and impose severe consequences to those “hunted” by institutional persecution and violence.

OCUPATION OF VICTIM

As shown in the chart, for 42% of the cases registered in CeDoSTALC, the outcome of this investigation is consistent with the accounts made by REDLACTRANS representatives in their public interventions and in the reports revealing the poverty and marginalization suffered by trans people.

Depending on each country, the prejudices deeply rooted in our societies usually combined, depending on the territory, with the lack of IDs indicating the self-perceived gender identity of individuals lead to the conclusion that “access to registered employment is almost inexistent for transgender people” (REDLACTRANS, 2014).

For the few trans people that manage to get a job, maintaining it and moving up the career ladder is a complex situation with major similarities across countries. According to the accounts of REDLACTRANS representatives, “for some trans persons getting a job is a synonym of mutilation”, as in many cases trans persons are required to conceal their gender identity.

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Self-employed work is also subject to social exclusion that affects different aspects of trans people’s lives.

In summary, over the years, there were no indications of a state, political or social change that may improve access to employment for trans people. In Latin America and the Caribbean, transgender people’s right to work and to all their human rights are violated in a context of extreme violence unseen in other subpopulations. Historical and structural social exclusion can only be overcome through specific programs and legislation, such as those we demand every year.

D. ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND RIGHT TO INTEGRITY As shown by the most atrocious crimes affecting the trans population of Latin America and the Caribbean, REDLACTRANS representatives decided to list the most brutal or notorious cases occurred in 2019-2020.

The following chart is an accurate reflection of the accounts of the violations of transgender rights across the region.

COUNTRY

STATUS

ARGENTINA

On February 4, 2019, Laly Heredia was fatally shot three times in Camino de Cintura, Buenos Aires, by a client.

On July 18, 2019, Lucia Barrera, trans activist of Paraná, Entre Ríos, was stabbed to death 18 times in her house.

On November 26, 2019, "La Chicho" was brutally beaten and killed by a neighbor.

BARBADOS

Hate crimes or crimes against trans people are not recognized in Barbados. Any case of physical violence, threats, harassment or malicious damage are regarded as such without considering the prejudice involved.

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Barbados’ national representative was attacked in February 2018 and her case concluded in April 2019. She was attacked by a former tenant who cut her face with a butcher’s knife. Despite the seriousness of the injuries and that it involved a dangerous citizen, he managed to avoid the police and run away.

The attacker did not surrender to police and after being accused, he was released on bail.

The case’s judge ordered compensation for BBD 460 (USD 230 for income lost as she could not work because she had to recover from the injuries) or 90 days in jail. The judge did not issue any ruling related to the event or the attack on the grounds of gender violence or the efforts made to evade justice.

BELIZE

During the health care emergency triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of opportunities for trans people to access public funds or food and health assistance by the government became more evident.

The state, by failing to recognize the self-identity of trans people legally, commits the first violation of their human rights and the subsequent violation by requesting ID cards according to their gender to receive state support.

BOLIVIA

Gabriela Ramírez was stabbed to death 19 times in “Luz Bella” hostel in Villa Adela, El Alto City.

The murder was given widespread coverage because her comrades demanded justice and security as it was not an isolated case but these cases have no visibility in Bolivia, let alone that city.

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BRAZIL

The cases of violence against trans people in Brazil are terrible but the case of Dandara dos Santos is known as “the murder of cross-dresser Dandara Kettley” on February 15, 2017, who was beaten and killed by two shots in Bom Jardim, a neighborhood of Fortaleza, Ceará. The crime gained relevance when the images of the beating were published in the social media.

COSTA RICA

A case covered by the media was that of AM UM; she was battered in the sex trade area by the end of February 2020. Some people in a car harassed her and another trans women, beat her and recorded the events to upload them to the social networks.

Link to the news: https://www.crhoy.com/nacionales/videosujetos-atacaron-brutalmente-a-mujeres-transen-el-centro-de-san-jose/ Asociación Transvida monitored this case and provided advisory services to AM UM so that she would file a lawsuit.

In 2019, AM UM was killed while engaging in sex work. Means of communication referred to her using male pronouns disrespecting her gender identity.

Asociación Transvida issued a press release condemning the media.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/transvidacr/posts/13 08185905988409 LA QU was attacked with a sharp weapon in her domicile by a neighbor who had asked her to 33

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“party” with him in his room; she rejected the proposal and a few days later suffered the violent attack. The police arrived at the place but did nothing to help LA. She got a scar on her leg.

Asociación Transvida advised LA so that she would file a lawsuit but she refused.

We offered sensitivity training to law enforcement personnel to prevent this type of actions from happening but due to the COVID19 pandemic these workshops are suspended.

MA CH was discriminated against by her boss and a colleague at her workplace for being a trans women. She filed a complaint with HR but was once again discriminated against.

We issued a communication on our social networks and sent an e-mail to the company and copied the Ombudsman's Office and the presidential commissioner requesting a positive answer. We also advised MA so that she would file a lawsuit.

COSTA RICA

Natasha Ruby Flores was killed by stabbing in her house on August 17, 2019, in Quito.

Catalina Casquete was tortured and killed in the street on April 25, 2019, in Durán.

Cristina Tobón was killed by her partner in her house on November 2, 2020, in Quito.

EL SALVADOR

The case of Camila Díaz Córdoba highlights the negligence lived within the judicial system characterized by misogyny and ignorance of the law by public officers such as judges, district 34

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attorneys and lawyers that fail to implement the tools created under the reform to the Criminal Procedural Code, articles 129 and 155, that condemns hate crimes against vulnerable groups to over 50 years in prison. This shows the lack of institutional interest since the attackers that killed Camila Díaz Córdova were police members whose motto is “to serve and protect” and they did exactly the opposite. They were not tried according to these reforms because it was not titled as a hate crime but rather as a voluntary manslaughter even though evidence showed exactly the opposite.

GUATEMALA

Maris Bell Duarte was 15 years old and was shot dead on November 12, 2019, behind a church.

Luisa Reyes was found dismembered and with signs of torture and violence on April 1, 2020, in Izabal department. This department has become the most dangerous place to live for trans women.

HAITI

Unfortunately, hate crimes against transgender women are very common and frequent but they are not reported so they go unpunished. We have recently created a direct suicide prevention line for the LGBT community, which has allowed us to record hate crimes. On September 3, 2020, a trans girl was reported missing; we notified the police but the case is still open and the girl is still missing.

HONDURAS

On July 8, 2019, Bessy lainez was killed in the capital of Honduras. The killers were captured that same morning but they were not tried because proceedings take place two years after the arrest.

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Maria Avila was killed in 2018 in the City of Progreso Yoro. The trial took place on October 8, 2020, and the perpetrators admitted to the crime but were sentenced to 20 years. They are two young persons from the same city.

MEXICO

Karla Valentina Camarena del Castillo, Coordinator of the Mexican Network of Trans Women in Guanajuato State was killed on March 29, 2020, during strict quarantine. The Mexican digital newspaper Periodismo y Opinión Pública reads as follows: “The shooting to death of a transgender activist evidences another sector that will be left defenseless when the streets are emptied due to the COVID-19 crisis.”

NICARAGUA

The cases of violence and hate crimes against transgender people show the lack of “tolerance” towards our community. A leading case was a trans women assaulted by 3 men. Her partner intervened, which heightened violence. The aggressors killed her partner and she was injured while escaping.

PANAMA

Yineth Múñoz case, testimony: “With gender restrictions (permission to leave the house during specific days based on gender) due to the pandemic, I went out a day allowed for women as I am a trans women. I went to the supermarket and the security guard told me that I couldn’t be there because I was a man so they would call the police. I had to leave because I was humiliated and felt terribly bad.”

Danna case, testimony: “I went to the supermarket one day during the pandemic when there were gender restrictions in place. I went out a day that was allowed for women as I am a trans women, I even changed

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my name in my ID. When I was at the pharmacy a security guard asked for my ID because a women who was at the supermarket told her that I was a man.

I showed him my ID detailing my legally changed name. He apologized and I was able to continue shopping.”

Pamela Rodríguez case, testimony: “I am a 26-year-old trans woman. As I need money, I had to work the streets. Two police officers approached me in a motorcycle when I was at a corner and told me that I had to leave because only men could go out. I explained them that I was in my permitted hour to be in the street and that I am also picked on when women are allowed to go out. One of the police officers got mad and pepper sprayed me. When I took my cellphone to record the situation he got even madder and pressed the taser against my breast, hurting me. I ran away as I could.”

PARAGUAY

There are four hate crime cases that were taken to oral proceedings, so one of the cases has a maximum sentence of 25 years. This set a major precedent as it is the first hate crime conviction against Blas Enrique Amarilla, charged with the murder of Romina Vargas, a trans women, that became final. (https://www.ultimahora.com/sentenciaasesinato-romina-vargas-quedo-firmen2887376.html )

PERU

Already 5 trans women were killed in Peru in 2020, although this figure refers not to all crimes committed across the country but rather to the identified cases. As there is no legal framework to protect victims, the features that may be identified as prejudice against victims (malice 37

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and homophobic or transphobic insults before a crime) are disregarded and these hate crimes are investigated as voluntary manslaughter.

These are the transfemicides committed in 2020 to date: 1.

February 9, Lima (Villa El Salvador) Angie Mimbela del Águila (28) was slit her throat while working early in the morning. She agonized for 45 minutes as Serenazgo personnel refused to help her. Femicide perpetrator: unknown 2.

July 11, Trujillo (El Porvenir) Cristal Romero Mattos (52) was beaten and stabbed to death. Femicide perpetrator: unknown 3.

August 31, Lima (San Juan de Lurigancho) Brenda Venegas Ayquipa (52) was hanged; her body was found on August 4.

Femicide perpetrator: Ivan Alexander Timaná Ángel (23), unaccounted for.

Gabriela Cruz Pimentel (46) was recently killed on September 4 in the room rented in the district of San Miguel (Lima). She was found with her hands tied back and a cloth in her mouth so her murder was classified as a hate crime motivated by gender identity as she was tortured before she was killed.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A case that shocked the entire trans community was the case of Rubí Sodi from La Romana, who was dismembered and found in a uninhabited area of such province. Only her arms, legs and then her hear were found while the remainder parts of her body are still missing. The murder created unease in the entire trans community given the malice with which our identities are violated. Claims were filed with the ministries of La Romana and Santo Domingo, where the cases remain uninvestigated.

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Another case was that of Thalia Sodi who was brutally beaten to death by a sex client. This was an emblematic case because the perpetrator was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Such decision was fueled by trans organizations such as ours, COTRAVEDT, and the case was tracked and ended with a trial.

URUGUAY

The cases of discrimination in Uruguay evidence the hate speech promoted by fundamentalist religious sectors. An example is a case in a wellknown disco in the capital of Uruguay where two trans women were victims of violence upon trying to enter the place and her identities were not respected. This situation led to physical and verbal aggression.

5. Review and recommendations to the media The people that work in the media should undergo sensitivity training to offer journalism that is free from stigma and discrimination. Undoubtedly, one of the major challenged faced by LGBTQ+ activists is to work on the media industry to demolish myths, stereotypes and clichés.

Moreover, the people that work in the media should also understand that the LGBTIQ+ population is not a uniform community but rather that there are differences, internal divisions, standpoints and tensions, as in any other movement.

Intersectionality may be the guiding approach to multiple political agendas. Class, race and ethnics perspectives may help us deepen the analysis.

During the period covered by this report (2019-2020), REDLACTRANS believes that the journalistic treatment afforded to the serious situation lived by the trans community is insufficient because it fails to show and tell our stories. The information is biased and lacks objectivity because the spectacularization of events and the use of discriminatory language prevail, and fail to meet the recommendations or standards to communicate with respect and advocating for transgender rights.

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As explained herein, in 2019, violence from anti-rights and highly conservative groups escalated. They relaunched their political and social agendas through advocacy and communication campaigns and violent trampling over our lives, and managed to gain media and social network coverage. Until 2019, these groups did not have so much media coverage; however, when sexual education and right to abortion were debated across the region, these groups grew in number, became coordinated and curtailed the rights of women, transgender persons and the entire LGBTI+ population.

There are several examples. For instance, below is a video published by Uruguayan media, social networks, radios or digital means on anti-rights movements during the campaign for the plebiscite against Uruguay’s Comprehensive Trans Law.12 34567 This is a small sample of the speech of anti-rights movements in Uruguay and their advance and presence on the media and social networks.

In September and October 2019, Paraguay’s anti-rights groups also attacked8 several trans people9. These expressions of hate and transhate are also seen in Paraguay’s media. Thus, Panambi organization drafted recommendations to communicate diversity10 and, in solidarity with the trans population in Paraguay, SomosGay organization issued several communications in this regard.11 The year 2019 already started with alarming levels of violence. In Argentina alone eight women were killed during the first 15 days of 2019. 12Femicides also affected the trans population, which are referred to as “transfemicides” to make the difference and to show the specific violence inflicted against trans women 13. Violence against trans women in Central America worsens with a violent and sexist culture and violent groups such as “las maras” or “los salvatruchas”, international criminal https://www.teledoce.com/?p=462361 https://www.teledoce.com/?p=386768 3 https://youtu.be/u_06M9JOdaQ 4 https://www.facebook.com/AmericaFM103.3/videos/485272625367804/ 5 https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/-carlos-iafigliola-ya-voto-contra-la-ley-trans-y-denuncio-irregularidades-20198413195 6 http://www.2019.com.uy/sector-adelante-carlos-iafigliola-mas-50-puntos-pais-derogar-la-ley-trans/ 7 https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/politica/carlos-iafigliola-ley-trans-vulnera-ninos-sonindefensos.html?utm_medium=elpaisuytw&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1564660253 8 http://somosgay.org/infonoticias/infodetalle/concejal-y-grupos-antiderechos-violentaron-festival-por-laigualdad-y-la-li 9 https://agenciapresentes.org/2019/09/30/grupos-antiderechos-atacaron-marcha-lgbt-en-hernandarias/ 10 http://www.panambi.org.py/publicaciones/27 11 http://somosgay.org/infonoticias/infodetalle/basta-de-transfobia-en-los-medios-de-comunicacion-en-paraguay.

12 https://www.filo.news/Ya-son-8-las-mujeres-asesinadas-en-lo-que-va-del-2019-t201901140002.html 13 https://www.eltribuno.com/salta/nota/2019-1-29-0-0-0-contabilizan-ocho-muertes-de-mujeres-trans-enenero?fbclid=IwAR2vZ-p_eCoiSotDUJkLognN3xWgmcH0B_dn3sMlSIskfpaIsSoq6ovpoRw 1 2

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gangs14. Trans people also undergo violence during forced and massive immigration; an example is the case of the trans women of El Salvador who were part of the migrant caravan.15 In Brazil, the country with the highest rates of violence against trans people, these pieces of news are concealed by the media; rarely do they reveal information showing the situation lived by the trans community.1617 In addition to transfemicides and tortures, trans people undergo violence by their own couples or families and these cases are portrayed by alternative media 18 to a much lower extent than news of extreme violence against the trans community.

Most pieces of news analyzed that tell the story of violence against the transgender community were published by alternative media that provide meaningful information in an effort to highlight the situation lived by trans people, such as these two cases: Mexico19 Argentina20.

In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first global pandemic in a context characterized by the massive number of media, social networks and the ongoing and vast flow of information, we insist that the treatment afforded by the media fails to meet the minimum journalist approach focused on human rights and respect for trans identity.

During the pandemic that has already lasted eight months, the trans community is not regarded as a vulnerable population affected by the historical restricted access to formal employment, discrimination, lack of comprehensive healthcare and denial of self-perceived gender identities.

https://agenciapresentes.org/2019/01/14/karla-avelar-en-el-salvador-hay-un-genocidio-de-las-personaslgbti/?fbclid=IwAR3MlRpiQmyzmvXzHRYab1P-5vn-ckRANW4HPwwxZD5114pPw8KHm-SZin0 15 http://noticortos.news/torturan-y-asesinan-a-camila-una-mujer-transgenero-que-huyo-en-una-caravana-demigrantes/?fbclid=IwAR06evSJcrjATWnw4b4kjT3Bsh9Hk3IKYiN2tCgdUkBu2IbkeT6okDeh6Bk 16 https://g1.globo.com/go/goias/noticia/2019/09/03/transexual-denuncia-que-foi-torturada-com-cabo-devassoura-por-policiais-militares-em-goiania.ghtml?fbclid=IwAR3g6ZGkPn46_pOgseM-sB5wUp1Hvp15gYZWEl7x5xC7d2a--aGtMaK9GU 17 https://www.bandab.com.br/seguranca/corpo-de-possivel-trans-que-estaria-desaparecida-e-encontrado-no-riobarigui/?fbclid=IwAR1WmpJv7qCc2WoQ-8vSx4AXb0JZ--d2JglOak_u5AqCzHUfZE3sk0Xidz4 18 https://www.tiempodesanjuan.com/policiales/2019/9/5/le-robo-todo-su-novia-trans-se-entrego-la-policiaahora-la-hostiga-con-volver-ser-novios265435.html?fbclid=IwAR1Th8nVQJ3EuFQsfNKjI0B4mZDKLd6EWJkl8y2EHbOqIrPjtYR6nxBXvTg 19 http://www.perriodismo.com.mx/2017/01/19/asesinan-a-mujer-trans-de-colima-enguadalajara/?fbclid=IwAR14URP1yqpVbuJgSwRks59NDQMDVUakAw7I-eGvapK2TtzamGyq-6Nw3Do 20 https://agenciapresentes.org/2019/02/27/denuncian-a-la-clinica-zabala-por-hostigar-a-una-pacientetrans/?fbclid=IwAR3l18lsY1Ee0JDMHmMqADuPh-0ugFkKVqjs3hbTXVd2Sq-N6fs7zjVwNKc 14

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The global healthcare emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic heightened discrimination against immigrants, healthcare professionals, COVID-19 patients, persons with HIV, trans persons and sex workers, among others.

During this pandemic, the few means of communication that addressed the situation lived by trans people during the COVID-19 pandemic portray them as victims rather than as subjects of rights. Even though international agencies and the different civil society organizations and networks have repeatedly took part in demonstrations to visibilize the emergency lived by the trans population, the media and their speeches insist in hardly speaking about the trans population and, when they do, they are paternalistic and reduce them to victims.

They also misinform on the situation lived by HIV patients and their supposed vulnerability to COVID-19. According to the WHO, a person living with HIV (high prevalence among the trans population) that undergoes an adherence treatment faces no particular risks if they get coronavirus. The actual factor that harms a person living with HIV and COVID-19 is the lack of state aid and the uncertainty as to whether they will receive antiretroviral therapy on a regular basis. This is not covered by the media, worsening the bad, deficient and biased information published regarding people living with HIV. In addition to the collection of reports filed in the different countries of the region, CeDosTALC has a Facebook fan page to share news about the violation of transgender rights. In 2019, a total of 580 posts were made, from which at least 80% are related to news on the human rights violations against transgender people.

In 2020, more than 400 news were shared with the same type of content. This record is an invaluable, permanent contribution made by REDLACTRANS because any person on the region and the world can find a single registry of news on human rights violations against transgender people.

We invite everyone to see and follow the work performed by CeDosTALC in the social networks: https://www.facebook.com/CeDoSTALC Recommendations to the media and social network users: a) Apply the principle of self-determination of trans identities and sexual orientations. b) Shed light on the situation of emergency lived by trans people but not portraying them as victims or from a paternalistic standpoint. Trans people are autonomous subjects of right; therefore, the media should cover 42

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information based on such premise. We face a situation of emergency but media revictimization is particularly harmful. c) Highlight the actions carried out by anti-rights groups contrasting them with benchmark human rights standards issued by bodies such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It is also important to balance this information with the accounts of transgender people. d) Trans persons who engage in sex work are workers rather than prostitutes.

Sex workers’ stigma and lack of labor rights have greater consequences in the context of the current pandemic. The treatment afforded by the media to the serious situation lived by sex workers who cannot continue working should not lead to new stigmas. e) Avoid the banalization and spectacularization of trans lives in view of the consequences of COVID-19 containment measures. In other words, the food, housing and employment emergency lived by trans people due to the restrictive measures adopted by the different administrations should be analyzed in context. f) Avoid the media approach of trans people living with HIV from a medical and pathologizing perspective. There is no risk relationship between HIV and COVID-19 if the person receives proper antiretroviral treatments and is provided with comprehensive healthcare. g) The lack of state response and access to comprehensive healthcare endangers the health of a person with HIV who gets COVID-19. h) Avoid the stereotyped portrayal of images related to trans identities when referring to the COVID-19 situation. i) When discussing the measures restricting circulation, people care and free movement of people during lockdown and curfews, visibilize the diversity of people and the discriminatory binarism of gender-based movement restrictions in Panama and Colombia. j) Protect the privacy and identity of trans people that suffer violence from law enforcement forces and trans persons with COVID-19 or who died from coronavirus.

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k) Promote the proper treatment of trans persons as subjects of rights and to bear in mind that we all have the same rights upon designing and applying contingency measures and public policies to contain the pandemic. l) Use terminology terminology.

that

is

respectful

and

understanding

of

LGBTIQ+

6. Recommendations to Latin American and Caribbean States REDLACTRANS national representatives put in motion a strategic plan to generate favorable changes for the trans community once the COVID-19 pandemic is over to ensure the sustainability of the trans movement across the region by participating in activities with a political effect in order to become part of the public and political agendas and UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

This political action has allowed us to be in contact with international human rights associations and cooperation bodies, as well as officers of some countries of the region.

In countries such as Peru, Panama, Colombia and Honduras, we managed to contact those who expressed in a public and political manner their support and understanding of the violence lived by transgender persons during the pandemic and demanded the eradication of violence on the basis of gender.

Thanks to our fights and alliances with other networks of vulnerable populations and joint work with spaces such as the LGBTTTI Coalition of the OAS, other agencies such as the OAS, the IACHR and UNAIDS issued a statement in favor of transgender rights across the region.

Therefore, given the lack of protection and security for transgender people, and the relentless violation and infringement of human rights, REDLACTRANS made the following recommendations: 1. Agencies should reinforce the economic and technical aids that they plan to offer to civil society organizations to provide marginalized transgender people with food, sanitary and housing assistance where possible.

2. Gender-based violence should be included in the state’s political agenda and preventive actions should be adopted accordingly. Public awareness programs

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should be implemented within law enforcement forces and health care systems.

3. Given the lack of gender identity legislation in some countries of the region, governments should amend their laws to secure the basic human right to an identity of transgender and nonbinary persons.

4. Solutions should also be created to lessen the damage suffered by transgender people when being denied access to health or food programs because there is no gender identity law in force.

5. Transgender people create support networks that become our families when we are rejected or not acknowledged by those with whom we share blood bounds. Thus, vouchers, programs or measures to assist families should also consider and accept our bonds.

6. We need to ensure that transgender people living in rented dwellings are not subject to violent eviction when failing to meet payment schedule due to lack of economic resources.

7. The human right to comprehensive, effective and quality health care should be protected and guaranteed. This entails respecting our self-perception, refraining from hindering access to medical treatments, and providing us with access to new treatments should we present symptoms or suffer from any preexisting condition that may be aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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7. Bibliography

ASPIDH - REDLACTRANS. (2020). Paren de matarnos - Informe Nacional de El Salvador 2020 ASPIDH. Still to be published. https://www.redlactrans.org CEDOSTALC. (2020). [The registry platform used by NTRO transgender recorders is a software developed by REDLACTRANS to document and store the cases reported in CeDoSTALC. This system was designed during the first half of 2019 and is currently administered by Regional Secretary Office of REDLACTRANS]. CEDOSTALC. COLORADO, R. (July 2020). Interview.

D'MARCO, A. (November 2020). Interview.

FISCALES. (n.d.) Resumen OC 24-17. https://www.fiscales.gob.ar/. Retrieved in 2020 from https://www.fiscales.gob.ar/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Resumen-OCidentidad-de-g%C3%A9nero-DGDH-DGPG.pdf GÓMEZ, Y. (November 2020). Interview.

HOFFMAN, A. (November 2020). Interview.

LUZQUIÑOS, M. (November 2020). Interview.

OTRANS GUATEMALA - RedLacTrans. 2020, Paren de matarnos - Informe Nacional de Guatemala 2020. Still to be published. https://www.redlactrans.org OTRANS GUATEMALA. 2020, Violencia simbólica a mujeres trans en tiempos de COVID-19 en Guatemala 2020 [chart]. https://www.dropbox.com/s/gm5p74kthv9j4rr/infografia%20%20versi%C3%B3n%20final.pdf?dl=0 REDLACTRANS. 2018, Waiting to die. 2016-2017 Regional Report. https://www.redlactrans.org REDLACTRANS. (2019). Stop trans genocide. 2018 Regional report. https://www.redlactrans.org REDLACTRANS. (2020). Las vidas trans en tiempos de pandemia. https://www.redlactrans.org 46

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REDE TRANS BRASIL. (2019). Rede Trans Brasil. http://redetransbrasil.org.br/dossie/. http://redetransbrasil.org.br/dossie/ TORRIANI, R. (November 2020). Interview.

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REDLACTRANS

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