In the midst of escalating violence and discrimination against transgender people in Latin America, the UNAIDS regional office in Latin America has publically condemned killings, violence, disappearances and other human rights violations against the transgender community and the wider LGBTI population.
Latin America has witnessed an alarming scale of hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This is made worse by the climate of impunity, which allows perpetrators of these attacks to go unpunished. Read more in this policy briefing.
The Alliance welcomes the statement and hopes that it will urge governments to properly investigate these incidents and protect the human rights of their transgender citizens. Click here to read the Spanish language statement.
Anamaria Bejar, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean team at the Alliance says: “The HIV epidemic will not be tackled until our societies embrace diversity and treat transgender people as equal citizens. Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean need to put a stop to impunity and protect transgender people, ensuring their access to public services are not obstructed by discrimination and violence. Unfortunately, there are many transgender leaders whose lives are in danger at this moment.”
The Alliance’s works with the Latin American Network of transgender people, REDLACTRANS, who are engaged advocacy efforts to put an end to this violence, and call for the equal recognition of transgender people in Latin America.
Read more about the issues in 'Stigma, discrimination, persecution and murder: Transphobia in Latin America' a blog by Marcella Romero, Regional Coordinator for REDLACTRANS.