In November, the month of Trans Memory is celebrated. Tribute is paid to all transgender people who have lost their lives through acts of hatred.
“For years we have been demanding that the State comply with the guarantees of rights under conditions of life and gender in a person deprived of liberty Trans-lgbi. At trans women They keep killing us, ”says the Trans Community Network of Ecuador.
According to data from the Silhouette X association, half of the cases of murders, violent or unclear deaths and suspected criminality of the LGBTIQ + community belong to transgender women. The transphobia is the reality of many trans women, where they suffer different types of violence (sexual, psychological and physical). The activist transfeminist Sarah Flores considers that Ecuadorian society is very conservative and closed, which causes crimes and abuse of hate towards the community.
«There is a lack of awareness, a lot of willingness to learn about what it is to be a transgender person, a person of binary gender, a transvestite person or even a queer person, ”says Flores.
An example of this is what happened with two trans women, who were prevented from taking photos at the Basilica del Voto Nacional, in Quito, arguing that they were not properly dressed. A friend of the discriminated women denounced the fact on social networks and this generated clarification from the administrators of the temple, implying that it was a misunderstanding.
«To be frank, the Government has not said anything since it took office, regarding the murders, violent deaths not clarified or suspected of criminality … It must be made clear that the current president, Guillermo Lasso, used statistical data from the Association Silhouette X for its campaign, in which it offered to protect and guarantee the lives of people of diversity, ”says Diane Rodríguez, founder of the Silhouette X Association.
According to Rodríguez, on November 17 a statement from the Undersecretariat of Diversities was published. The document mentions that new public policies must be integrated to eradicate violence or discrimination against members of the LGBTIQ + community who are in prisons. They also regretted what happened to Helen Maldonado (who died in the last prison massacre) and they assume the responsibility that some type of similar events do not happen again.
Rodríguez says that the statement is a joke and is summarized in that they are going to work for the trans community, but after. “They waited for three prison crises to talk about people of diversity, who are also interns. Why? Because of the death of Helen Maldonado. This shows that this government works from the eventuality, “he adds.
Abuses, acts of hatred and transphobia
The transphobia It is the psychological, physical and verbal abuse suffered by the trans people by the other members of society and the State. The acts of hate towards the community, the rejection of their gender identity, among other facts, is the day-to-day situation that the trans women. Such is the case with Nicole (protected name); she had to constantly move and find a place to live because her relatives abused her. «I remember when I was sleeping, my grandfather wanted to touch me, he wanted to touch me. But luckily nothing happened because I was screaming, “he says.
Nicole has suffered several violations of her integrity as a person, her mental health and her physical well-being. She says that throughout her life she has been raped and sexually abused, physically violated, and even tried to murder her. He fled his life in Esmeraldas and came to Quito to see what he was doing; It was then that she began to hang out with organizations that gave her back all the security and confidence in herself.
Andrea Bravo is a trans woman car caretaker on the streets of Guayaquil. She belonged to an association of vehicle caretakers in the center of Guayaquil, but for the transphobia was dismissed. “For more than a year and a half they have wanted to take away ‘the street’ that she uses to support her life and replace it with another person belonging to the association,” says Rodríguez. “We have even known that people from the National Police circuit that circulates in that sector seem to be on the side of this association,” he adds.
María Paz Capelo, Special for LA HORA
