November 20 is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is dedicated to the victims of transphobia who have been killed as a result of hatred and fear of trans people, as well as to remembering the ongoing violence suffered by this community.
Unfortunately, this year’s balance is anything but positive.
We are dismayed at the brutal attack on our comrade Alejandra Vega Balenciaga, member of the Trans AFETH Feminist Association in Honduras, on November 9, 2019.
Since the beginning of the year, 41 people from the LGBT+ community have been killed in Honduras. Killed by hate-fueled acts directed against gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people. Some were murdered for being transgenders and sex workers, others for being human rights activists. But all were considered second-class people not worthy of their right to life.
We repudiate the assassination attempt against Alejandra Vega and all forms of violence against LGBT+ people in Honduras and throughout Central America. We likewise condemn the Honduran state’s dereliction of its duty to protect them as individuals, as activists or as human rights defenders.
We demand the Honduran state take immediate measures to prevent additional violence and killings in the country; that protective mechanisms and assistance be put in place for rights defenders and survivors of violence; and that all crimes committed be investigated immediately.
We stand in solidarity with all defenders fighting every single day for the right of LGBT+ people in Honduras and the entire region to exist.
You can read the original statement in Spanish here
Signatories
Hivos
Plataforma Derechos Aquí y Ahora – Honduras
Colectivo Unidad Color Rosa – Honduras
Visibles – Guatemala
Mesa Nacional LGBTIQ – Nicaragua
Mesa de Articulación LGBTIQ+ En El Exilio Capitulo Costa Rica (MESART)
Grupo de Apoyo a Familiares y Amigos de la Diversidad Sexual GAFADIS – Costa Rica
Movimiento Matrimonio Civil Igualitario – Costa Rica
Hombres Trans y No Binarixs – Costa Rica
Transvida – Costa Rica
Asociación Ciudadana ACCEDER-Costa Rica
Síwo Alâr Hombres Trans – Costa Rica
ASPIDH-Arcoíris Trans – El Salvador
Asociación Entre Amigos – El Salvador
Colectivo Alejandría – El Salvador
Ámate El Salvador – El Salvador
Colectivo Normal – El Salvador
Somos Familia – El Savador
