HAVANA, Cuba. – Between November 10 and 11, Disneys Borrero, an LGBTIQ person, was murdered by her partner in the La Rosita neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of San Miguel del Padron.
The information was released on November 11, by the user Almakki Díaz on her Facebook pagewhere he presented as “another violent event, this time homophobic”, the death of “a young man known [sic] in the gay world like Disney[s]”.
Since it is common for gay and trans people to adopt a name different from that in official records, and given their gender expression, it is presumed that Disneys recognized itself on the transfeminine spectrum. Since we have not been able to confirm her identity, this note seeks to avoid the unnecessary use of pronouns and gender markers related to the victim.
Recognized for her talents as a hairstylist, the victim was particularly known for her skill in eyebrow design. His death has sparked outrage and sadness among friends, acquaintances and clients, who describe him as a “very decent and educated” person.
“What a shame (…), he was a super good person. Decent and polite [sic]. And as a stylist he was the best [sic]. Youth are being lost in this lawless country. They only persecute those of us who are not from the PCC,” user Bertha Mariela Sablón Roque commented on Díaz’s publication, who claims that her daughter was a friend of Disneys, as well as other local girls.
Yoimaris Céspedes, another user who asked on Facebook if the victim was not “the boy [sic] who fixed eyebrows in La Rosita,” he told CubaNet that he had no details about the alleged crime.
For her part, Laura Daniela Hernández, a person close to the case, confirmed the murder of Disneys at the hands of her partner.
According to Almakki Díaz’s publication, the aggressor had fled after committing the crime, although this information could not be confirmed by other means. Nor his identity, his current situation or the motives to take his partner’s life.
Violence between same-gender couples: another one that is not talked about
Reports about crimes on the Island have increased dramatically in recent years, in tandem with the serious socioeconomic crisis that the country is suffering.
In the case of gender violence, particularly against women and girls, the YoSíTeCreo platform in Cuba and the magazine’s Gender Observatory Tense Wings (OGAT) have registered So far this year there have been 45 femicides, five attempted feminicides, six cases that require access to police investigation and two murders of men for gender reasons.
The murder of Disneys qualifies as a new act of sexist violence and highlights the persistent problem of violence in relationships, especially in the context of the LGBTIQ community.
Despite this, some users on social networks have spread the erroneous notion that it was a “crime of passion” to differentiate it from a homophobic crime as Almakki Díaz’s publication alleged.
“Crime of passion” is an expression that minimizes the seriousness of these acts and diverts attention from the roots of gender violence. Sexist violence affects bodies not identified as women or feminized people with a transfeminine appearance.
The OGAT has explained that the murders of trans women, transvestites and people on the transfeminine spectrum are considered sexist violence, when, apart from transphobia, they contain “that component of misogyny that characterizes femicides.”
Most approaches to gender violence are carried out in heterosexual couples, so research in gay couples is urgently needed to recognize their related factors.
It was a few decades ago that members of the LGBTIQ community took on the task of identifying the prevalence of this type of violence in same-gender couples. The National Coalition of Anti-violence Programs (1997) and the researchers Renzetti (1997), Shernoff, (1995), Lobel, Island and Letellier (1986-1991) were the pioneers in exposing that domestic violence in this context not only existed , but it reached alarming numbers.
These researchers estimated that at least half a million gay men in the United States were victims of domestic violence and a similar number were perpetrators. a study that is carried out annually with this population identified that one in four men has been involved in violent relationships. This estimate is consistent with the statistics on couples of lesbian women provided by the researchers. Of Lives in 1999 and Klinger & Stein in 1996.
More recently, another study conducted with 302 Puerto Rican gay men revealed that 61% had experienced intimate partner violence.
According to this latest research, there are multiple factors that explain why the issue of violence in same-gender couples has remained invisible. These include homophobia, the denial of the problem by the people who make up the LGBTIQ community (motivated by the fear of promoting homophobic attacks), the emphasis that this community placed on other problems such as HIV/AIDS, the denial of victims to go to institutions such as the Police, the judicial system, or settings that offered physical and mental health services due to prejudice, hostility, and the lack of interest they perceived and existing myths about domestic violence, among others.
Among these myths is the belief that only men can assault and women can only be victims, as well as the false notion that romantic relationships between people of the same gender are essentially more equal.
