Footage which has alarmed LGBT+ activists in northern Belgium shows a group of boys barricading a street in broad daylight before pinning their victim down, hurling homophobic insults and violently punching them.
A week on since the video, of an attack in Leuven, went viral on Twitter, an investigation by Het Laatste Nieuws found that the perpetrators are tied to a gang called “Criminal Justice” who “hunt” queer people while proudly broadcasting their attacks onto social media.
Via Telegram, the group reportedly chat to around 600 other members who revel in seeing LGBT+ people being pummelled live on camera, chat logs seen by the outlet showed, with the 12 August clip being just one of a horrid array of incidents of violence.
Victim of anti-LGBT+ Belgium gang: ‘I had to get on my knees and apologise.’
Reporters found that the Telegram group is clogged with messages glorifying violently attacking LGBT+ people, while others actively search online for new victims. One message read: “Gays must be slaughtered.”
Around 400 photographs and video recordings are on the chat, the outlet said, including the Leuven attack, and allegedly include incidents in Blankenberge, Antwerp and Roeselare.
Attackers said they were willing to use knives and firearms, the chat logs showed, while testimonies from victims have described the Criminal Justice playbook as once of humiliation and psychological abuse.
One victim told HetLaatste Nieuws that in Groenplaats, Antwerp, he and a friend were targeted by the group. “A little further down the road from us, two men were playing loud music,” he said.
“When we left, they suddenly started to chase us. And a little later I was threatened via Instagram.
“I agreed to talk to them, which I shouldn’t have done. They threatened me badly.
“I had to get on my knees and apologise. What if I hadn’t? Then I would have been beaten badly.”
More chat records show that those involved in the Leuven attack – where the perpetrators shouted the Moroccon anti-gay slur “zemmel” at the victim – believed the victims involved were gay.
An equal marriage campaigner in the Czech Republic has warned that the country could follow in the footsteps of Poland and Hungary in embracing anti-LGBT+ hatred.
In the Czech Republic, campaigners are also fearful of a backslide on the issue.
Although registered partnerships are legal in the Czech Republic the country does not permit same-sex marriage or joint adoption by same-sex couples. Politicians have largely rejected calls for progress on the issues, while polling indicates that less than half of the population supports change.
In an interview with Radio Prague International, equal marriage campaigner Adéla Horáková warned about the danger of politicians tapping into homophobic rhetoric as a “pure calculation” to benefit themselves, as seen in Poland.
Czech Republic ‘in danger of following Poland and Hungary’
The campaigner, from Jsme fér (We Are Fair), said: “We are not Poland and Hungary, but there’s a real danger we might be walking down that path.
“If you look at some of the statements, for example, from some of the politicians from the Civic Democrats, acclaiming and congratulating the politics that Kaczynski is doing.
“For example, [Alexandr Vondra, MEP for the conservative Civil Democrats] is hailing their style. He knows very well what they are doing. He knows the hatred they are spreading, he knows the muzzling of democracy, or the deconstruction of democracy, they are doing, and knowing this he still calls their style ‘good conservative politics’.
“He’s certainly not the only one who is either admiring the style of Orban and Kaczynski or silently supporting it and maybe hoping to follow.
“So there is a very real danger we might be walking in the same direction and we need to very quickly, and very clearly, say that this is not where we’re going.
Horáková continued: “We need to ask our politicians and hold them accountable for not making role models out of these countries.
“We can be civil, we can be neighbours, we certainly need to cooperate, but we need to say very clearly that this is not the direction in which we’re going.”
LGBT+ people face ‘uneducated indifference’, campaigner says.
The central European country sits on a striking legal dividing line on the issue of LGBT+ rights in Europe – bordered by Germany and Austria, which permit equal marriage, as well as Poland and Slovakia, which emphatically do not.
No former Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Czech Republic have adopted equal marriage, while nearly all of western Europe with the exception of Italy and Switzerland have.
Horáková said that the current situation in the Czech Republic, however, is mostly one of indifference towards LGBT+ people.
She said: “It is often not a real respect, which is what we would need and want, but maybe an uneducated indifference, which we sometimes call tolerance – I’m not so sure if that’s the right word.
“But I would say that maybe uneducated indifference is a good place to start, on the way to respect.”
GMB Union, one of the UK’s biggest trade unions, has demanded that the UK government finally reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) and tackle transphobia.
The union, which counts more than 600,000 members, urged minister for women and equalities Liz Truss to introduce much-needed reforms in a letter earlier this week (August 11).
“As a trade union we represent all workers, including many trans workers,” the trade union wrote in its letter to Truss.
“We know the levels of discrimination and abuse trans and non-binary people face in the workplace as well as wider society: many employers do not adequately understand trans issues, nor do a large number of service providers that trans people rely on.”
GMB Union comes out swinging for trans rights in powerful letter to equalities minister Liz Truss.
GMB Union drew Truss’s attention to research conducted in 2017, which showed that almost half of trans workers had been bullied or harassed at work, while a third reported having their gender identity revealed without their consent.
The trade union hit out the the overly complicated process by which trans people can get legal gender recognition in the UK, calling the barriers “significant”.
“Under the current process there are significant financial, emotional and medical barriers to legal recognition because those going through the process must provide evidence of a gender dysphoria diagnosis and demonstrate they have been living in their gender for two years.
Going back on the commitment to reform the GRA for the better will have a detrimental impact on the safety and lives of trans and non-binary people.
“Further to that, access to health care is inadequate with waiting lists for initial appointments, between one and two years and with only seven such clinics in the UK,” they added.
GMB Union went on to question why the UK government has not yet released the results of its extensive 2018 public consultation on the Gender Recognition Act.
They also noted the results of a recent YouGov poll, commissioned by PinkNews, which showed that a majority of women support self-declaration for trans people.
“Self-declaration is already the law in many countries such as in Ireland were a person over the age of 18 can change their gender by way of a ‘statutory declaration’,” the group said.
Rolling back trans rights would be ‘discriminatory’, trade union says.
GMB Union said they appreciated Truss’s recent pledge that trans rights will not be rolled back.
“We were concerned about press reports that the government was looking at restricting trans people’s access to single-sex facilities and services,” GMB Union said.
“This would be a seriously regressive and discriminatory step against expert advice. It would force trans women to use male facilities despite strong evidence that this puts them at risk of violence.
“Since the Equality Act, trans people have been able to access facilities that match their gender for over a decade.
“In line with your commitments with LGBT+ equality and medical best practice, we ask the government to reform the Gender Recognition Act based on self-declaration,” the union added.
“We urge you to put forward policies that would tackle discrimination against trans and non-binary people and not expose them to harm in particular by denying them access to safe spaces.
“Going back on the commitment to reform the GRA for the better will have a detrimental impact on the safety and lives of trans and non-binary people.”
The arrest of a non-binary person on Aug. 7 underscores the growing crackdown against LGBTQ activists in Poland.
Margot Szutowicz, who uses female pronouns, and nearly 50 others were arrested in Warsaw, the country’s capital, while protesting Szutowicz’s imminent arrest for allegedly causing damage to a truck promoting anti-LGBTQ messages and assaulting a pro-life demonstrator on June 2.
She was initially arrested on the charge on July 14, but released after 24 hours. Prosecutors appealed the case, triggering Szutowicz’s current detention.
The advocate is being held for two months awaiting trial on charges that carry multi-year prison sentences. Szutowicz was also arrested on Aug. 2 for draping a rainbow flag over a monument along with two others.
Szutowicz attempted to plan to have her Aug. 7 arrest take place in a public place and in front of the media at the Warsaw offices of the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy group, where fellow protesters and supporters joined her. Szutowicz left the office to turn herself over to the police, but law enforcement told her she would not be arrested.
Plainclothes officers waiting in an unmarked car later this night arrested Szutowicz while she was still among the crowd of 50 people. Protestors attempted to block the arrest, but they, along with bystanders, were arrested and taken into custody.
Lawyers on Aug. 8 and 9 coordinated the release of protestors and bystanders who were arrested alongside Szutowicz, but she remains in custody.
Szutowicz is set to be detained in a male facility. She is currently being held in a single-person cell due to coronavirus restrictions.
Szutowicz had been denied access to a lawyer until Thursday. Some of the 50 other people who were arrested on Aug. 7 cited police violence while in detention, including being beaten in police cars and being deprived of food and water, according to ILGA-Europe.
“The LGBTI community is being denied the right to exist by the leading political party. LGBTI people in Poland live in a situation of constant, repressive pressure with no access to justice or state protection,” said ILGA-Europe Program Director Björn van Roozendaal. “In circumstances like these, where marginalized members of society are being attacked from all sides, protest and activism are inevitable, and may even be considered provoked by the government’s failure to protect their fundamental rights and disproportionate law enforcement responses.”
Campaign Against Homophobia Executive Director Slava Melnyk said these processes carried out by the Polish police can be seen as “scaring tactics.”
“The government, the police and the prosecutors are trying to impose a chilling effect on the civil society, activists, straight allies, LGBT people in general,” he said.
The unrest in Warsaw follows the reelection of President Andrzej Duda, who has been vocally anti-LGBTQ. As part of his presidential election campaign, he publicly signed the Family Charter that outlines no acceptance for same-sex marriages, no adoption of children by same-sex couples, and no education for children on “LGBT ideology” in public institutions, which he described as a being worse than communism.
Melnyk said Warsaw in the past has been a relatively LGBTQ-friendly city,
Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski plans to create a homeless shelter for LGBTQ individuals and increase education on diversity and inclusion, Melnyk said. The city has also been the center of Pride festivals in recent years.
Following Szutowicz’s arrest, many protesters have been displaying rainbow flags across the city, and are subsequently being arrested for those actions. Melnyk said police on Friday arrested a protester who hung a rainbow flag on the gates of Poland’s Justice Ministry.
Organizations such as The European Parliament LGBTI Intergroup, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Council of Europe Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit have all called for Szutowicz’s immediate release.
The oldest and largest Pride festival in China, ShanghaiPRIDE, has announced that it is “taking a break from scheduling any future events”, in a huge blow to the country’s LGBT+ community.
When ShanghaiPRIDE began in 2009 there were 3,000 people in attendance, marking the first time a large LGBT+ Pride festival had ever been held in mainland China.
The organisation has evolved and grown over the last 12 years, introducing year-round events including a Rainbow Bike Ride, Pride Run, conferences and panels.
But on Thursday, August 13, organisation released a “goodbye announcement” titled “The End of the Rainbow” in which it wrote: “ShanghaiPRIDE began in 2009 as a small community event in celebration of acceptance and diversity.
“We hoped to instil a sense of belonging in anyone who sought it and nurture an environment of inclusion and love.
“Over the past 12 years, we worked hard to enrich the culture and diversity of this city that we love so much: we showcased inspired artwork, theatre and films; we fostered connections through job fairs and group open days; we offered a platform for individuals to share authentic stories about their lives; we threw parties that brought people together; and we hosted forums to trade wisdom on how to make Shanghai a more vibrant, inclusive place.”
ShanghaiPRIDE said that while Pride celebrations mean different things for different people, “for us, it has always been about showing our community that not only is there nothing wrong with who we are, but that our identities and the people that we love are worth celebrating”.
It ended its statement by saying: “ShanghaiPRIDE regrets to announce that we are cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events.
“We love our community, and we are grateful for the experiences we’ve shared together. No matter what, we will always be proud – and you should be, too.”
According to Radii, ShanghaiPRIDE co-founder Charlene Liu added: “This decision was difficult to make, but we have to protect the safety of all involved.
“It’s been a great 12-year ride, and we are honoured and proud to have traveled this journey of raising awareness and promoting diversity for the LGBTQ community.”
The cancellation of all ShanghaiPRIDE events will be a huge blow to the LGBT+ community in China, which is already struggling.
Queensland has become the first Australian state to ban the torturous practice of conversion therapy after lawmakers voted on Thursday to make it illegal.
Under the new law, any Queensland therapists who use methods such as exorcism, hugging, behavioural management or marriage to “heal” LGBT+ people would face up to 12 months in prison, or 18 if the person is a minor.
It is the first law of its kind in Australia, targeting a practice that health minister Steven Miles called “harmful, deceptive and unethical”.
“No treatment or practice can change a person’s sexual attraction or experience of gender,” he said.
“Survivors of conversion therapy report experiencing deep feelings of shame, alienation and hopelessness. [These] often result in symptoms of depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide.
“Expert bodies around the world strongly oppose the use of conversion therapy. It’s time to send a clear message that it’s unacceptable. An ideology that treats LGBT+ people as broken or damaged has no place in our community.”
The state’s LNP Opposition voted against it, with shadow health minister Ros Bates complaining that it “would turn doctors into criminals”.ADVERTISING
She also raised concern that the draft bill lacked clarity over practices relating to gender dysphoria, but Miles assured parliament that new amendments “removed any doubt” over “evidence-based and other clinically appropriate practices”.
He clarified that the bill outlaws any practices “based on the premise that being [LGBT+] or intersex is a defect or disorder”, so it wouldn’t effect anyone who provides actual support to those undergoing or considering a gender transition.
Several conversion therapy survivors have said they are “extremely concerned” that Queensland’s legislation doesn’t go far enough as it only effects health professionals, who rarely offer conversion therapy.
“Overwhelmingly, the bulk of harm occurs over time in informal settings… not in therapeutic contexts,” SOGICE Survivors and Brave Network said in a joint statement to Reuters.
“Health professionals are only very rarely involved in conversion practices in 2020, and therefore must not be the sole focus of any legislation or response.”
Greens MP Michael Berkman supported the bill but echoed these concerns.
“The bill focuses solely on health practitioners, failing to address the fact the bulk of conversion therapy is most likely occurring in informal and religious settings,” QNews reported him saying.
“The ban on this type of therapy should be extended to religious institutions. Funding for specialised support for survivors should also be prioritised.”
Separate legislation to “modernise and strengthen” Queensland’s sexual consent laws is also set to be introduced to Parliament this week.
A gay couple in Montpellier, France were beaten and had their home pillaged by a gang of youths in “a scene of incredible violence”.
The incident occurred when two teenagers saw a gay couple smoking cigarettes from their window.
They approached the men and asked them: “Are you queer?” according to local media reports.
When the men said they were, the teenagers hurled insults at them and allegedly threatened to kill them.
The two teenagers briefly left, but quickly arrived back with two other people. A physical fight broke out, with one of the assailants sustaining an injury in the process.
The gang of youths then pushed their way into the gay couple’s home where they broke the front door and smashed their windows using beer bottles.
The gay couple, along with two neighbours who tried to intervene, ended up hiding in the bathroom while the youths trashed the apartment.
Local media said the youths destroyed the apartment in what was described as a “scene of incredible violence”.
They proceeded to steal a video game console, a pair of shoes and an Armani watch – but police quickly caught up with the assailants.
They were tracked down that night at a trolley station and were arrested. They now face charges of theft, destruction of property, making death threats, as well as a potential hate crime charge.
The group of youths – one of whom was an adult while the rest were minors – were all from the Paris area and were holidaying in Montpellier when the incident occurred.
Montpellier is well known among France’s LGBT+ community as one of the most accepting and welcoming cities in the country for queer people.
The city was home to France’s first ever same-sex wedding in 2013 when Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau tied the knot.
A massive explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut on Aug. 4 nearly destroyed the offices of Lebanon’s oldest LGBTQ advocacy group.
Helem’s offices are located less than a mile from the city’s port where the explosion took place. Helem Executive Director Tarek Zeidan on Monday told the Washington Blade during a Skype interview the blast damaged buildings up to 10 miles away.
“You can imagine how close we were,” said Zeidan. “Nothing much of inside the center remains: Doors, windows, fixtures, furniture, everything was blown out.”
Zeidan said the explosion injured several Helem staffers.
“They had to be taken to the hospital that night for their wounds to be stitched, but thankfully no one lost their life,” he said.
Helem was founded in 2001.
Its offices are located in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael and Gemmayzeh neighborhoods, which Zeidan described to the Blade as “the most vibrant … most LGBT-friendly neighborhoods in the entire Arab World, much less in Lebanon and in the city.” Zeidan said a lot of bars, coffee shops, art galleries and nightclubs were located in the area.
“All of that has been destroyed,” Zeidan told the Blade. “The entire area has been brought down.”
Zeidan said most of the buildings in the area that remain standing are not structurally sound. Zeidan added “nothing inside” Helem’s offices “is salvageable.”
Zeidan and his partner live more than a mile away from the blast’s epicenter.
Zeidan told the Blade the explosion caused “one entire side of the house to sort of implode inwards with all the glass” and “the living room fixtures blew inside as well.” Zeidan said his partner was in the room “that sort of exploded, but thankfully he wasn’t hurt.”
“I was not in the house,” said Zeidan. “I just came back and saw the carnage and went down and saw the same.”
Initial reports indicate a fire that ignited more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port since 2013 sparked the blast. The explosion took place against the backdrop of Lebanon’s economic and political crises that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated.
Zeidan on July 22 was in Helem’s offices when he spoke with the Blade in a Zoom call about the impact the crises and the pandemic has had on Lebanon’s LGBTQ community.
“You’re not exaggerating when you say things are really bad,” said Zeidan.
Zeidan noted to the Blade that Helem at the beginning of the pandemic launched food and clothing drives.
Zeidan during the Zoom call also said Helem was working to create what he described as a “community kitchen” to provide people in need with hot, nutritional meals twice a week. Zeidan also said Helem worked with the American University of Beirut to create a clinic within its medical center that would provide free diagnostic services to LGBTQ people.
Helem is among the organizations that participated in last October’s anti-government protests that forced then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign. Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his Cabinet on Monday resigned amid growing outrage over the blast.
Zeidan is among those who police tear gassed on Sunday during anti-government protests in Beirut. Zeidan’s voice was hoarse when he spoke with the Blade on Monday.
“Yesterday it wasn’t outrage,” he said. “It was rage. It was rage against everybody: Not just the people responsible, not just the people that ran the port, not just the political sponsors. It was rage against subsequent governments, of subsequent bad governance and corruption and murder and theft and the deliberate impoverishment of the Lebanese people and the fattening of the pockets of the political elite and ruling class.”
Zeidan told the Blade the Lebanese people have launched their own relief efforts without assistance from their country’s government. Zeidan said Helem volunteers and staff “immediately joined” them.
“Many of our volunteers are out on the streets cleaning up debris or assisting the makeshift community kitchens,” he said. “We’ve dedicated funds to support people who are seeking shelter from the community, particularly because so many places are unlivable, even if they are structurally sound.”
OutRight Action International launches Helem fundraiser
“We are going to survive and the center will survive,” Zeidan told the Blade.
“We’re worried about the community and our friends and neighbors and people in the heart of the city,” he added.
OutRight Action International notes 100 percent of the fundraiser’s proceeds “will be passed on to Helem to use for the support of the LGBTIQ community, the center’s relief efforts, and any other urgent needs on the ground.” OutRight Action International Executive Director Jessica Stern on Monday reiterated her organization’s support of Helem.
“Helem, the oldest LGBTIQ organization in Lebanon, was severely damaged in the recent explosion in Beirut. Helem is working to rebuild, while also struggling to support countless LGBTIQ people who have been left homeless, and engage in city-wide relief efforts,” Stern told the Blade in a statement. “OutRight’s mission is to work with local LGBTIQ organizations around the world to promote LGBTIQ equality.”
“When crisis strikes, it is our duty and honor to do what we can to support local activists,” added Stern.
A groundbreaking El Salvador National Assembly candidate hopes to make history as the first openly gay man elected to the country’s legislative body.
Erick Iván Ortiz is among the candidates that members of Nuestro Tiempo, a new political party, have chosen to run in the National Assembly elections that are scheduled to take place on Feb. 28, 2021.
Ortiz, 29, has an economics degree from the Higher School of Economics and Business in El Salvador. He also studied human rights at Luis Amigó Catholic University in Medellín, Colombia, and participated in a social leadership development course at George Mason University.
Ortiz told the Blade his social activism began a decade ago with a specific focus of defending democracy, promoting institutions and transparency and young people’s participation in politics, among other issues.
“[My work] began in a very difficult context for El Salvador because it was a moment in which we were facing an attack on democracy due to the attempt to tie up the Constitutional Court,” said Ortiz. “We joined forces with different sectors of the population to make ourselves clear, and at that young age I saw myself as an agent of change.”
Following the 2014 presidential campaign in which LGBTQ issues were used in a negative way, Ortiz, along with other people who were uncomfortable with what happened, decided to organize themselves. They formed Colectivo Normal in 2015.
“The collective was born under the analysis that the problem with our society is cultural,” he said. “We have a sexist, violent and homophobic society because this is the social construction that has been made.”
Colectivo Normal has since used cultural and political advocacy to advance their cause, using the arts as a strategy to spark new conversations in order to change the narratives around the LGBTQ community. After a process of deconstruction and constant learning within the collective, members met with different LGBTQ organizations in a round table in which the Salvadoran LGBTI Federation was created.
“I have been able to train alongside El Salvador’s best trans activists like Karla Avelar, Karla Guevara, Ambar Alfaro, Paty Hernández, among other people, and better myself,” Ortiz told the Blade.
Advancing a human rights agenda
Joining a political party is nothing new for Ortiz.
He was previously part of the right-wing Republican Nationalist Alliance (ARENA) party’s youth wing, but Ortiz made his priorities clear.
“The challenge is not to speak with those who are convinced, but to speak where things are more complicated,” he said. “It was important to have a partisan spokesperson to generate an internal conversation around a specific issue.”
Ortiz explained his project within ARENA came to an end and he decided to resign at the same time because his innovative plans to generate policy changes did not align with the party’s vision.
“Now I have decided to join Nuestro Tiempo, because it is a party that includes diversity as one of its seven tenets,” Ortiz told the Blade. “In the face of an openly anti-rights government that has made us invisible and has downplayed LGBTI issues, I decided to take the leap and take the reigns of our representation and get involved in the front lines of politics.”
In El Salvador, as in many other Latin American countries, there is a historic invisibility with respect to LGBTQ political representation. Ortiz said one cannot depend only on promises from parties that do not handle the issue well.
“The only thing we are asking for is equal rights,” he told the Blade. “We don’t want special rights. It is about guaranteeing access to justice, fighting impunity towards hate crimes, guaranteeing there is no discrimination in the labor sector, in health services and education, to name a few.”
“The LGBTI struggle, at the end of the day, is about fighting for an El Salvador that is more inclusive, fairer and more peaceful,” he added.
The coronavirus pandemic has made the beginning of Ortiz’s campaign challenging for him and for his team. Ortiz’s campaign will use the internet to announce his platform and legislative proposals.
Ortiz told the Blade they include a national anti-discrimination law that would include all Salvadorans who have been historically marginalized. Another of Ortiz’s proposals would legalize marijuana as a way to generate new income for the State and to balance public finances while dismantling the black market at the same time.
Ortiz said he will work on the issue of mental health, given the history of conflict through which the country has lived and the insecurity with which it has experienced for years. Ortiz added he considers it necessary to rebuild the social safety net in a comprehensive way that protects vulnerable Salvadorans.
“The programmatic proposal will be consultative, something that will be built with other people and will therefore be able to identify which ideas the citizenry needs to be implemented,” he said.
Short and long-term challenges
“My biggest concern at the moment is the empowerment of the LGBTI community with respect to the current situation,” said Ortiz. “My proposal is to put the LGBTI community at the center of the electoral political proposal, something that has not been done before. This will only be possible with the support and unity of the LGBTI movement.”
Ortiz said now is the right time to put aside differences as a movement and build upon a base of common ground that includes non-discrimination and to clarify any doubts with regard to them.
“The 2021 Legislative Assembly’s composition is a long-term challenge that worries me,” said Ortiz. “We will have a more conservative relationship than the one we currently have, because polls indicate a party like Nuevas Ideas that has proven itself to be openly anti-rights will be in the majority, and this will be added to the traditional conservatism of ARENA, PCN, PDC and also now of VAMOS as a political party.”
This scenario would leave in a marked minority the parties and initiatives that are against the anti-rights proposal being configured.
Ortiz says it would be a big challenge to face an ultra-conservative block in the National Assembly if he were elected. Ortiz adds existing communication channels can be used to advocate from a seat within the legislative body.
Ortiz in his ticket will include Gabriela Martino, a proud mother of a gay son who is an LGBTQ rights activist. Martino has experienced first hand how painful the discrimination a child can face in education and family settings, among others.
“Gabriela is a woman who is very committed to our project, because she also has a voice that speaks from being a straight mother who is proud of her children, of her family and who thinks it is convinced that no boy or girl should spend their childhood suffering from discrimination or violence,” says Ortiz.
Ortiz says he has the support of Nuestro Tiempo, given he did not end up with a bad position on the list of candidates after the internal elections. Ortiz tells the Blade his position demonstrates the commitment the party has on the issue of inclusion.
“I feel an enormous responsibility with this candidacy, because it will be an earthquake for society and therefore bolster who we are,” he said. “I am not possibly going to fully represent all segments of the LGBTI community, but yes, my voice is going to represent the LGBTI voice in the political agenda.”
“We all need to be able to break this glass ceiling that women broke decades ago and to ensure that my candidacy will not be the last one and that each leader there is will be empowered and be able to be those agents of change that society needs,” he concludes.
A trans asylum seeker has been violently murdered in Guatemala, after fleeing gang-related persecution in El Salvador.
The 27-year-old, who has not been named to protect her family, died last weekend.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that her violent death “highlights the need for effective protection to be granted to people forced to flee their countries, including members of the LGBT+ community”.
UNHCR added that the woman had fled gender-based violence and persecution by gangs in her native El Salvador and applied for asylum in Guatemala in 2018.
“We express our deep condolences to the family and loved ones of this woman who was trying to rebuild her life in Guatemala after being forced to flee her country due to violence and persecution,” said Giovanni Bassu, UNHCR regional representative for Central America and Cuba.
The UNHCR urged Guatemala to bring those responsible for the killing to justice.
In neighbouring El Salvador, three policeman were jailed last month for the killing of trans woman Camila Díaz Córdova – the country’s first-ever conviction for a homicide where the victim was transgender.
Trans people in Central American countries face widespread discrimination, harassment and violence, with UNHCR partner COMCAVIS Trans saying that “the majority of LGBT+ people – particularly transgender women – are often initially forcibly displaced within their own country, escaping gang threats, murder attempts, and physical and sexual violence”.
“Many often endure years of violence and persecution before seeking asylum in other countries,” COMCAVIS Trans said.
In Guatemala, a homophobic president who is opposed to LGBT+ rights was sworn in in January.
Alejandro Giammattei, who is against same-sex marriage and abortion, gained a surprise victory in the August 2019 election.
He replaced outgoing president Jimmy Morales and will hold office or a four-year term.
The 63-year-old won the election last year for Vamos, a political party founded in 2017 by politicians, businessmen and military officers with a focus on battling poverty.
He promised yesterday to bring forward legislation that would declare street gangs terrorist groups and said he would promote the rule of law. He also committed to increasing employment.