Cuerpos excluídos, rostros de impunidad. Informe de violencia hacia personas LGBT en Colombia en 2015.

Violaciones a los derechos humanos de las personas LGBT en Colombia

39

They are not isolated cases. They are crimes due to widely extended social prejudices.

The State must prevent, investigate, punish and guarantee non repetition of these crimes.

This report is the result of the joint work of Colombia Diversa, Caribe Afirmativo and Santamaría Fundación.Colombia Diversa, Caribe Afirmativo y Santamaría Fundación.

HOMICIDES INCREASE AND IMPUNITY PERSISTS

110 LGBT people murdered in 2015.

This is the highest number of homicides registered since 2012.

Gay men and transgender people were the main victims of the homicides.

  1. At least   39

    % of the homicides had prejudice against sexual orientation or gender identity as the motive.

Homicides LGBT people by department, 2015, 2015

Homicides LGBT people by department,2015

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Homicide rate motive: prejudice by each sexual orientation or gender identity percentage

Homicide rate motive: prejudice by each sexual orientation or gender identity percentage

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Homicidios por orientación sexual o identidad de género percibida de las víctimas, 2015

Homicides by victim´s percived sexual orientation and gender, 2015

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Homicides motive: prejudice,2015

Homicides motive: prejudice,2015

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Homicide cases LGBT persons

Homicide cases LGBT persons

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32 transgender women were murdered.

  1. 45

    % of the homicides had prejudice as the motive.

  2. 28

    years is the average age of the victims.

There is a possible link between exclusion and violence against transgender people.

Low schooling level is a sign of lack of access to education and this, in turn, forces them to perform low paying and/or criminalized jobs. Seemingly, that is why lethal violence affects them since they are very young.

Possible link between exclusion and violence against transgender people

Possible link between exclusion and violence against transgender people

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11 lesbian women were murdered.

The highest number of homicides since 2008.

  1. 54

    % of the homicides were motivated by prejudices against the sexual orientation of the victims, that is, 1 out of two women was murdered because she was a lesbian.

When the victim is a lesbian, bisexual or transgender woman, the , gender based violence is articulated to violence motivated by prejudice towards sexual orientation or gender identity.

In the cases documented in 2015, we found the following characteristics of this articulation:(i) visibility of the sexual orientation, especially if the person has a couple, because in this way the woman subverts gender roles according to which women must be always subordinated to men, and (ii) ) because violence was a method to control feminine sexuality by the couple or ex-couple..

52 gay men were murdered in 2015.

The majority of the crimes occurred in their homes and were extremely violent. Other crimes took place in public places or after threatening pamphlets against LGBT people were circulating.

  1. 36

    % of the homicides were motivated by prejudice, that is, 1 out of 3 gay men were murdered because of being gay.

9 homicides of LGBT human rights defenders in 2015.

Among them we find gay, transgender women or union leaders and representatives of victims of the armed conflict.

Half of the crimes were related to the victim´s work because (i) they took place in municipalities where there were armed actors, (ii) they were working with sectors widely affected by the armed conflict such as union members and victim’s associations or (iii) they had been threatened because of their work.

Homicides LGBT Human Right defenders, 2012-2015.

Homicides LGBT Human Right defenders, 2012-2015.

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Torture, mistreatment and extrajudicial executions.

LGBT people are especially vulnerable to torture, mistreatment and extrajudicial executions when under custody of the State.

A lesbian woman and a transgender men were victims of torture and mistreatment and allegedly executed when under custody of the State.

In both cases, authorities exerting the custody claim that the victims committed suicide while they were detained.

There is no legal clarity over the facts. There are inconsistencies in official versions and elements pointing out to the fact that they could have been extrajudicial executions preceded by torture.

The State does not comply with its obligations

In the majority of the cases, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police have not identified the persons committing the crimes.

Between 2012 and 2015, only 15 perpetrators of crimes against LGBT people were condemned.

  1. 95

    % of the homicides are still unpunished.

Judges’ and prosecutors’ prejudices are one of the main barriers for access to justice.

This leads to the acceptance of prejudiced hypothesis (i.e. that it was a passion crime) or letting deadlines expire.

When motives are not adequately investigated, there is no information on violence due to prejudice, the seriousness of it, and the actions the State must perform to eradicate it.

Investigations for LGBT people homicides

Investigations for LGBT people homicides

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State of the investigation for LGBT homicides per year, 2012-2015

State of the investigation for LGBT homicides per year, 2012-2015

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Interactive graphics on murders of LGBT people in Colombia

Map of LGBT people murdered in Colombia

Map of LGBT people murdered in Colombia

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Interactive graphics on murders of LGBT people in Colombia.

Interactive graphics on murders of LGBT people in Colombia.

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MURDERS OF LGBT PEOPLE IN COLOMBIA, 2015

SELECTIVE LAW: POLICE BRUTALITY AND CRIMINALIZATION OF LGBT PEOPLE

Life and integrity of transgender women sexual workers at risk.

  1. 91

    LGBT people affected by police brutality in Colombia.

The Departments with higher numbers of cases of police brutality in 2015 were: Bogotá, with 14 people and Valle del Cauca with 10. The same Departments, together with Antioquia, showed the higher numbers of police brutality between 2012 and 2015, followed by Atlántico and Guajira.

Police brutality cases in 2015 by main type of violence

Police brutality cases in 2015 by main type of violence

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Víctims of police brutality in 2015 by sexual orientation or gender identity

Víctims of police brutality in 2015 by sexual orientation or gender identity

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Cases of police brutality by department and year, 2012-2015

Cases of police brutality by department and year, 2012-2015

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80% of the cases of police brutality were related to personal injuries and selective application of the law.

  1. At least

    22

    of the cases of police brutality against LGBT people had prejudice towards sexual orientation or gender identity as the motive.

11 personal injuries, one attempt of murder and an alleged extrajudicial execution, followed by 7 cases of selective application of the law.

Violence according to the motive,2015

Violence according to the motive,2015

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Recurrent forms of police brutality, 2015

Recurrent forms of police brutality, 2015

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Violations to life and personal integrity: transgender women are still the main victims

The most frequent police brutality cases are physical injuries compromising the life and integrity of the victims.

In the areas with constant presence of transgender women, working as sexual workers or living in the streets, police brutality is constant,unjustified and disproportionate.

The systemic character of these aggressions and the deprecatory expressions towards gender identity and the fact that these women are living in the streets are motivated by prejudice and very far from the constitutional aims of the national police.

Photography: Rommel Rojas Rubio

Photography: Rommel Rojas Rubio

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Police procedures are applied in an unjustified, selective and disproportionate manner

Prejudice causes exclusion from public places and unnecessary control of LGBT people.

The Police uses prohibition of “obscene acts” in public places to punish the expressions of affection among same sex couples and they detain them or fine them.

Police agents perform selective, unjustified and disproportionate security operations in sex work areas.

Victims claim that these operations are disrespectful, aggressive or threatening and that their clients are blackmailed and detained.

Threats and oral aggressions: The Police reproduces prejudices and despises and violates LGBT people’s integrity

Threats are a most frequent, less visible and less reported manifestation of police brutality. Threats include oral aggression, mockery and intimidation actions with their weapons (such as clubs, pepper gas, fire guns, among others).

This kind of aggressions precede and go together with other kinds of violence such as physical aggression, arbitrary detentions and exclusion from public places.

Through verbal aggression, mockery and threats, the Police deprecates, undermines and violates LGBT people’s integrity.

The Police discriminates and criminalizes the most excluded LGBT people

Prejudice against sexual orientations and gender identities are linked to other prejudices against sexual work or being homeless.

This is aggravated by institutional discourses based on exclusive notions on public spaces, public moral and public health.

Lack of regulation of sexual work in the streets promotes police brutality under the guise of public space recovery.

Red Comunitaria Trans - Photography: El Gato Fotógrafo

Red Comunitaria Trans

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Measures to prevent police brutality: ineffective and unprecise administrative measures that do not protect the rights of LGBT people

In 2010, the Police issued administrative act 006 to prevent brutal behavior against LGBT people.

This act was ineffective because the planned dialogue spaces were not implemented regularly, the officials attending these spaces changed unexpectedly and were of low rank and the trainings did not include a differential approach.

There is no clear information on the present state of this act.

Act 003 (July 22, 2013) establishes differential and clear guidelines for the behavior in cases involving lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. Nonetheless, it should be revised and given strength in order to be effective to prevent police brutality.

In 2015, over half of the investigations on police brutality were closed and filed

Victims only reported 20 cases to disciplinary or legal authorities. 41 cases were not reported at all. This means that 2 out of 3 cases were not formally reported.

In 2015, the General Inspection reported 14 investigations on police brutality. Of these investigations, 8 were closed and filed with no clear information on the causes.

Present state of investigations of police brutality cases, 2015

Present state of investigations of police brutality cases, 2015

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Justice access barriers: over half of the cases were not formally reported

Victims do not report police brutality for fear of retaliation from the aggressors.

There is no guarantee for reporting or legal defense.

When victims report their cases to the Police, many times they are summoned to press charges with not much time in advance. In most cases this forces victims to be absent. When they do not come, the reports are closed and filed without hearing the victims´ point of view on the irregular actions of the Police.

Police’s recurrent excuses to punish LGBT people: presently there is no way to contradict the Police when an agent states that he/she detained or fined a person because he/she was “too upset” or committed and act of obscenity in a public place.

Interactive graphics on police brutality against LGBT people in Colombia

Map of police brutality against LGBT people in Colombia

Map of police brutality against LGBT people in Colombia

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Graphic of police brutality against LGBT people in Colombia

Graphic of police brutality against LGBT people in Colombia

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TO LIVE IN DANGER: THREATS INCREASE WHERE THERE ARE ARMED GROUPS

Threats are recurrent in areas where there are armed groups

Threats increased 50% since 2014.

The highest number of threats took place in Departments where the presence of armed groups is very strong.

In these contexts, LGBT people are especially vulnerable because armed groups use social control tactics reproducing prejudice against and stereotypes of this community.

Threats to LGBT people by municipality and department 2015

Threats to LGBT people by municipality and department 2015

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Methods used to threaten LGBT people

Pamphlets were the most common used method.

Pamphlets speak of “unwanted people” or “dangerous people” as targets of the so called “social cleansing” campaigns. This is the main means through which prejudices against LGBT people are disseminated.

Pamphlets with personal threats might have a generalized effect when the threatened person is a well-known LGBT activist or a human rights defender.

Methods used to threaten LGBT people,2015

Methods used to threaten LGBT people,2015

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Armed groups and criminal gangs linked to paramilitary groups were responsible for most of the pamphlets

15 threats were signed by by armed groups and criminal gangs linked to paramilitary groups.. Another threat was produced by a police agent.

12 victims were human rights defenders or representatives of the victims of the conflict´s work tables. In several cases, threats were motivated by their leadership.

Diversity Parade// Photography: Caribe Afirmativo

Photography: Caribe Afirmativo

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State’s answer: threats are not reported and when they are, investigations do not progress

In only 20 cases, reports to authorities from threatened persons were known.

Some of the victims did not report these cases because they did not trust State institutions.

The main justice access barriers are:

Lack of credibility in the staff in charge of managing the reports.

Police underestimates claims stating that the group producing the threat does not exist or does not operate in the area.

The National Protection Unity protects LGBT people when they are threatened, but only protects those belonging to known organizations.

Interactive graphics on threats to LGBT people in Colombia

Interactive graphic on threats to LGBT people in Colombia

Interactive graphic on threats to LGBT people in Colombia

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IMPACT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBT PEOPLE IN THE CONTEXT OF CONFLICT

Threats, forced displacement and homicides are the victimizing events that have most affected LGBT people in the context of the armed conflict.

Forced displacement is one of the main consequences of threats by armed groups to LGBT people.

Displacement is not only present at a regional or national level. It is also present as an intra-urban phenomenon -such is the case of Medellín-. Victims tell how violence and threats coming from armed groups and criminal gangs have forced them to migrate to other communes or neighborhoods in the same city to safeguard their integrity and that of their families.

Contexts surrounding violence and critical scenarios for the effective enjoyment of rights and freedoms

There are particular dynamics regarding the presence of illegal armed groups, drug trafficking and the lack of presence of the State in some territories.

The re-establishment of paramilitary groups under different modalities and denominations makes violence against LGBT people to be maintained and even sharpened in some scenarios.

Structural difficulties for the application of the Victims' Law with LGBT people

Delays in procedures, lack of clarity for victims regarding their inclusion in the registry and inadequate infrastructure for victim care are some of these difficulties.

The attention based on a differential approach is not being applied by some officials of public entities.

In some settings, there is confusion as the expression of gender is perceived as synonymous of sexual orientation.

The application of the differential and gender approaches must be accompanied by training activities for public servants.

Right to privacy: lack of adequate facilities for the attention of victims of the armed conflict.

In rural areas the spaces for a dignified attention of the victims are very small and the claimer is exposed.

The response to requests for comprehensive repair, care or emergency measures, and inclusion in the RUV (Victims Registry) are slow and in most cases clear and truthful information on the status of applications or procedures cannot be obtained.

The stories of the victims report ridicule and disrespectful comments from some officials of the Victims Unit or the Public Ministry.

They continue to reproduce the stereotypes of LGBT people that have permeated the performance of some officials.

Key aspects to identify violence against LGBT people in the context of the armed conflict

  1. 01

    Selection of the victim: leadership, presence at victims' tables, human rights defenders or the visibility of their sexual orientation or gender identity puts them at risk and make them vulnerable to armed groups.

  2. 02

    Indications of prejudice in the execution of violence: the language and the way of carrying out the violent act are motivated by prejudice.

  3. 03

    Connection and systematicity of violence:: acts of violence are not isolated and there is a connection between them.

  4. 04

    The rural areas and the marginalized sectors of the cities become places of greater risk for LGBT people when armed groups are present.

  1. 05

    The greatest violence is committed by paramilitaries or criminal gangs.This does not mean that guerrillas have not committed violence against LGBT people.

  2. 06

    The motives of the perpetrators focus on social and economic control, including the "extermination of the immoral" and "the abnormal"..

  3. 07

    Lesbian and transgender women suffer double victimization due to gender-based violence: the visibility of transgender women or the fact of having a lesbian couple are reasons to become a victim violence caused by the subversion of the gender roles women are expected to play. .

Key Definitions

Sex assigned at birth

Being born with certain genitalia does not determine whether a person is male or female. Sex "is not an innate biological fact; it is assigned at birth based on the perception that others have about its genitals".

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Basic Concepts”.

For example, transgender women are assigned a male sex because of the belief that being born with a penis implies being a male. However, transgender women are women.

Constitutional Court of Colombia, Judgment T-476/14, July 9, 2014.

Gender identity

It refers to the gender with which each person feels identified, independent of the sex with which he/she was classified at the time of birth.

Transgender woman, transgender man and transgender person

"The term transgender women refers to people whose gender, assigned at birth, is male, while their gender identity is female. On the other hand, the term transgender men refers to those whose sex, assigned at birth, is female, while their gender identity is male. The term transgender person can also be used by someone whose identity lies outside of the woman/man binary”.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Violence against LGBTI Persons, November 2015, par. 21.

Gender expression

It refers to the external manifestation of different characteristics culturally considered as masculine or feminine, which may include corporal interventions, speech, dress, manners and interaction with other people.

Sexual orientation

It refers to the sexual and affective attraction that a person feels towards others of the same gender, of a gender different from his/hers or belonging to more than one gender, as well as the capacity to maintain affective and sexual relationships with them. According to this, we talk about lesbian women, gay men, heterosexual people or bisexual people.

Key definitions of concepts related to LGBT people

Key definitions

Graphic explanation on the concepts.

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However, this terms should not be applied as a standard equation for all cases because people do not always develop a self-identity according to cultural expectations about their sexual practices, affective relationships and bodies. Hence it is necessary to differentiate between:

Self-aware identities

When someone uses one of the categories of the acronym LGBT to identify itself.

Perceived identities

When someone can be identified as part of the LGBT population because of their body, sexual practices or erotic-affective relations, without this implying that they define themselves as such.

Violence due to prejudice towards sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes a form of gender-based violence.

Violence due to prejudice

We understand violence due to prejudice as that which is exercised over individual bodies or groups of people "for being what they are." That is, when:

  1. The perception of the victim as part of an inferior social group and thus determining and justifying different violent acts to be committed against him/her.
  2. To keep him/her subordinated or excluded, coming even to the point of physically eliminating him/her.

Signs of prejudice as the motive or cause of a crime against an LGBT person can be identified and grouped into five main areas:

  1. Selection of the victim.
  2. The type of violence perpetuated against the victim.
  3. Context of the facts.
  4. Prejudice from judicial operators.
  5. Social context.

According to the most recent national and international standards for the protection of LGBT people, , violence due to prejudice towards sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes a form of gender-based violence.

Standards

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that such acts "constitute a form of gender-based violence, driven by the desire to punish those whose appearance or behavior appears to challenge gender stereotypes."

Report on Discrimination and Violence against People Because of Their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, May 4, 2015, par. 21

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that prejudice-based violence because of sexual orientation or gender identity is related to "traditional social norms on gender and sexuality" that lead to gender inequalities and widespread discrimination against women.

Violence against LGBTI People Report, November 12, 2015, par. 50.

The Justice and Peace Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá acknowledged that "violence based on sexual orientation or diverse gender identities... is a form of violence belonging in gender-based violence, but this is not the only form it takes”.

Judgment against Arnubio Triana Mahecha alias Botalón et al., December 16, 2104,, párr. 992.

Main Recommendations

To the National Government:

Guarantee of the rights of LGBT people

Issuing and implementing a National Public Policy to guarantee the rights of LGBT people. Within the framework of this Public Policy, actions should be coordinated in terms of prevention, protection, investigation, sanction and guarantees of non-repetition of human rights violations against LGBT persons brought forward by Forensic Medicine, the National Police, the Prosecutor´s Office and the Public Ministry.

To Forensic Medicine:

Protocols for femicides and prejudice motivated crimes

Creating protocols to identify suspected cases of femicide in which the victim was a lesbian, bisexual or transgender woman, or prejudice motivated crimes of gay, bisexual or transgender men.

To the Prosecutor´s Office

To assign cases to prominent prosecutors

Establishing clear criteria to assign investigations for crimes against LGBT persons to prosecutors posted for this specific purpose within every Prosecutor´s Office. In cases where the victim is known to be an LGBT person but which are not assigned to these prosecutors, to include investigation lines from the hypothesis of them having been prejudice motivates crimes and to include gender-based violence standards.

Disciplinary investigations should not replace criminal justice

Following the the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, disciplinary investigations should not replace criminal justice in cases of human rights violations. Therefore, the Prosecutor’s Office must investigate all allegations of police violence and these facts must be sanctioned by ordinary justice, which does not exclude the police or the Attorney General´s Office from conducting internal disciplinary investigations.

To the Police:

Prevention and follow-up of allegations on police violence acts

Implementing mechanisms to prevent and monitor allegations on police violence acts, including the eventual withdrawal of the reported police from the area where the events occurred while the respective investigations are carried out, as well as monitoring their actions in other quadrants in the case they are transferred. This must be done in order to reduce possible retaliation towards the victims and to prevent similar acts to be repeated elsewhere.

To the Ombudsman's Office:

Creating gender pairs

The Delegate Ombudsman's Office for Women's Rights and Gender Issues should create gender pairs to assist, advise, accompany and provide psychosocial and legal support to LGBT victims of discrimination and violence in all Regional Ombudsmen Offices and articulate themselves with other Delegate Offices at the regional level.

To the Victim Care Unit:

Integral reparation measures

To implement, in conjunction with the National Memory Center, comprehensive reparation measures to rebuild the memory of LGBT victims of the armed conflict and their organizations.

Carrying out pedagogical actions for victims

To develop pedagogical actions with the victims already registered in the RUV to let them know that people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities can state it in their declarations when making reports. This activates the differential approach route for LGBT people and helps to improve State databases and actions.

Cuerpos excluídos, rostros de impunidad. Informe de violencia hacia personas LGBT en Colombia en 2015.

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Made by Colombia Diversa, Caribe Afirmativo and Santamaría Fundación.

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Report made by:

With the financial support of:

Delegation of the European Union in Colombia

the Swedish Cooperation in Colombia

Diakonia

Astraea

This document was produced with the financial support of the Delegation of the European Union in Colombia, the Swedish Cooperation in Colombia, Diakonia and Astraea. The content of this document is the exclusive responsibility of Colombia Diversa, Caribe Affirmativo and Santamaría Fundación and in no way should be considered as reflecting the position of the European Union or of the other organizations or entities that supported it.

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