At least one lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person was murdered in the last five years in Latin America and the Caribbean. Honduras and Bolivia are the countries with the highest and lowest rates, respectively.

"Por panochas", were the words found on a letter lying on top of the bodies of Betzi Esmeralda Có Sagastume and Kelli Maritza Villagrán Recinos, two lesbian women from the Department of El Progreso (Guatemala) who were murdered on 22 April 2019.

This is one of the 1300 murder cases of LGBTI people reported in the report "Prejudice Knows No Boundaries", carried out by the Regional Information Network on LGBTI Violence. The publication is launched in the midst of a harsh scenario of setbacks in LGBTI rights, increased stigmatisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and the clear lack of interest of a large number of states to formulate public policies to combat this type of violence. (You are interested: Report on killings of LGBTI people in Latin America over the past five years")

LGBTI people must hide their sexuality and identity in order to stay alive.

These figures do not include the more than 1600 homicides committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Brazil as these will be published in a forthcoming report.

Despite the difference in the level and type of violence suffered by LGBTI people in the different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, there is one factor that persists: prejudice, as 30% of the murders committed against this population are motivated by prejudicial acts.

The research also found that trans women and gay men are the main victims. The former are most at risk of being killed in the street, while the latter are most at risk of being killed in their homes.

Adding to the risk faced by LGBTI people in different spaces, the report notes that most of the crimes were committed against young people between the ages of 18 and 25 and the majority of these murders occurred in the months of July and June, during weekends. (See: Being killed at home for being gay is a possibility in Medellín)

Killings by country: contexts of regression

Prejudice, together with the political circumstances of each country, are the combination that causes the murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people to decrease or increase. A clear example of this is Honduras, which has a government that has allowed the creation of public policies that exclude LGBT people and has not had the will to implement laws that protect people from discrimination, making it the country with the highest murder rate of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

While Honduras has the highest murder rate of LGBTI people, its neighbouring countries, El Salvador and Guatemala are not far behind. In the former, 53 LGBTI people entered this count, while in the latter, there were 26.

On the other hand, the Dominican Republic, despite having initiatives that seek equality, has not implemented them. The anti-discrimination law has been paralysed, there are still obstacles to health care for transgender people, and there is a lack of work plans and resources from the Diversity Unit of the Ministry of Labour and the Specialised Human Rights Ombudsman's Office.

This lack of political will together with the prejudice that exists against LGBTI people increases the risk that this population will suffer some kind of violence. This is pointed out by the Director for the Americas at Amnesty International, who said after the cruel murder of a trans woman in the Dominican Republic that it is "a tragic reminder that the Dominican authorities must take stronger action to eradicate discrimination, including that based on gender identity and sexual orientation" (See: "The murder of a trans woman in the Dominican Republic is a tragic reminder that the Dominican authorities must take stronger action to eradicate discrimination, including that based on gender identity and sexual orientation: Amnesty International speaks out over murder of Dominican trans woman)

What is happening in South America?

In countries such as Colombia There is a paradoxical situation: despite legal advances in the recognition of LGBT rights, the materialisation of these rights is not a reality and this country has the second highest rate of homicides of diverse population in Latin America and the Caribbean. (You may be interested in: The struggle of LGBT people over the past 50 years in Colombia)

Between 2014 and 2019 alone, 542 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were murdered in Colombia and impunity is a constant. There are small advances, for example, the murder of Anyela Ramos Claros, whose case became the first sentence for femicide of a trans woman. However, all cases have not had the same fate and still lack justice.

Close to Colombia's reality is that of Brazil, a country with one of the most alarming figures: approximately 1,600 LGBTI people were killed in the last five years. These figures have an aggravating factor: the arrival of a far-right government that has been a clear opponent of the rights of various social minorities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. (See: "We are afraid. We left home and we don't know if we will come back alive": Brazilian transgender MP)

A Brazilian trans woman had her heart cut out on the grounds that she was a "demon".

One of the cases that reflects the prejudice that exists in Brazil towards LGBTI people is that of a trans woman who was murdered in January this year by a 20-year-old man who, after having sex with her, killed her. The murderer confessed to the crime, noting that after "having sex with her, he killed her.discover" that the victim "was a demon".The police, alluding to the fact that she was a trans woman, killed her, cut open her chest and cut out her heart, covering the wound with the image of a saint.

The message behind killings like this is clear: LGBTI people must hide their sexuality and identity in order to stay alive. These messages cross borders in countries such as Peru, which in the last five years has seen 57 people from this population die violent deaths. These murders have occurred within a national context in which strong social mobilisations, led by the radical extreme right, have sought to reverse legal initiatives that seek to eradicate discrimination in various areas. (You may be interested in: "Massive marches against gender equality education plan".) .

While the context of discrimination is widespread in the region, Bolivia has the lowest LGBT homicide rate in the world in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 8 in the last five years. In addition, Bolivia is one of only three countries in the region to have a gender identity law, which allows transgender people to change their name and sex component on their identity documents. However, this initiative prospered amidst resistance and a context of misinformation. (See: Historic: Bolivia passes gender identity law)

Contrary to the advances in Bolivia is Paraguay, a country that has led different campaigns that seek to roll back rights and prevent their recognition in spaces such as the OAS. The onslaught against the diverse population and the murder of 12 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the last five years paint a bleak picture for this population. (See: LGBT community fears of conservative government in Paraguay)

In the face of the different contexts and high rates of killings of LBGTI people in the region, information gathering is essential so that states can formulate public policies to curb this violence. In this regard, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has stated that the absence of data and, consequently, the invisibility of the situation means that there are no adequate public policies (See: IACHR report on violence against LGBTI persons)

In the same way,  the Organisation of American States (OAS)- and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights -OHCHR- have called on States to produce statistical information on violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity since 2013.

While the work of research, registration and dissemination of information by social organisations is fundamental, this task does not exempt states from their duty to obtain accurate data on vulnerable populations.

This work is one of the first steps towards getting states to formulate effective guidelines to reduce the violence experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Latin America and the Caribbean, because to date, as the report reflects, prejudice knows no boundaries.