We are deeply shocked by the news that two trans activists suffered extreme forms of violence: Catalina Prada was attacked in the streets of Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Scarleth Campbell was murdered in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Catalina Prada, trans activist, human rights defender and member of the Right Here Right Now (RHRN) Platform was attacked in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, during the early hours of Saturday, July 18. She was stabbed eight times. Luckily her life was saved. This violent act is one of the many transphobic attacks inflicted on women in several Latin American cities. This is the third attack suffered by a trans woman in Santa Cruz in recent weeks.

Scarleth Campbell, age 22, was murdered in a transphobic attack on July 10 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Scarleth was an activist and member of the Muñecas de Arcoíris organization, which is part of the RHRN platform in Honduras.

These two attacks against LGBTIQ+ activists happened in less than two weeks, once again indicating that transphobic violence is a constant threat in the Latin American region. This situation devastates us as friends and as activists and collaborators.

Every day, these women go out to earn a living as sex workers, at the risk of being attacked and even killed because their countries lack regulatory frameworks and authorities that work to protect their rights. While they were vulnerable before, due to Covid-19, many currently live in increasingly vulnerable conditions, resulting in a myriad of potentially deadly problems: some have been evicted from their homes, lost their livelihoods and/or do not have access to health care.

We need to bring an end to this impunity!

Hivos and Rutgers demand that the governments of Bolivia and Honduras carry out immediate investigations that lead to the conviction of those responsible for these hate crimes, which are often ignored and forgotten. We stand in solidarity with the outrage expressed by the RHRN Platforms in Honduras and Bolivia.