According to the World Bank Organization, 70 countries around the world consider homosexuality illegal, and there is no social acceptance of this community at all. There are exclusions, arrests, and even the death penalty against them. This is alarming because there is a lot of discrimination and violence against people, based on their sexual orientation, and this affects them not only physically but psychologically. In Peru, most LGTB people live with the fear of being attacked, and they can't be themselves or show their real identities because we can see this rejection everywhere; in schools, universities, supermarkets, other social places, etc. Their sexual orientation affects them when getting a job and being with their families too.
All the above-mentioned is called gender-based violence. But why does it occur in the first place?
According to Mr. Vimal Makwana (2020), LGTB people face higher rates of hate-motivated violence, which take the form of stigma, marginalization, and sexual assault; due to traditional perceptions of gender roles and appearances which are deeply rooted in our society. In fact, the results from the USA’s National Crime Victimization Survey (2017), proved that violent victimization experiences were higher among sexual and gender minorities (71.1%) than non-sexual and gender minorities (19.2%). In addition, Subhrajit (2014) mentions that because homosexuality is often considered deviant compared to heterosexuality, LGBT persons are more vulnerable to systematic violence. Indeed, a 2015’s report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), found that in Latin America, young trans women were more likely to be victims of gender-based violence, and according to the data collected, 80% of trans individuals killed were 35 years or younger. Furthermore, Donnelly-Drummond (2021) notes that the heteronormativity embedded in the legal and educational system raises concerns about how discrimination and violence against LGBT people are perceived. To exemplify, according to Peru’s First Virtual Survey for LGBTI People (2017), 60% of the respondents claimed to have suffered some type of violence or discrimination in the educational sphere as well as in various state institutions.
Traditional society has binary divided gender roles based on people's biological sexes. This generates a series of paradigms for each sex, such as: that women must be liked by men, they must take care of their appearance, the way they speak, dress, and walk, and must demonstrate sensitivity and fragility. On the other hand, men must be strong, less emotional, the boss and each of the above factors must show strength. This clearly limits the freedom of expression of each person, and even more so when a person is part of the LGBTI community. By not complying with these norms culturally assigned to their biological sex, they suffer violence without any justified reason. This human group is in a situation of vulnerability, which is why out of every 10 people that make up this group, 7 are victims of discrimination. These facts show us that in Peru there has been and is a serious structural and naturalized discrimination against lesbian, gay, transsexual, bisexual, and intersex people because of their sexual orientation, expression and gender identity. As an example of the seriousness of this problem, we have the case of sexual violence against Azul Rojas Marín. In 2008, Peruvian police officers sexually assaulted and tortured this LGTBI person. In 2020, The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has found Peru responsible, and it was the first time in its history that the IACtHR, the ultimate authority on human rights in the Americas, has considered a case of discriminatory torture. Just like this one, there are many more cases of suicides, massacres, and extreme violence that show how bad we are as a society regarding inclusion.
LGBT people are victims of the police, they are even discriminated against by the government entities themselves. States are obligated under international law to protect LGBT people's right to life, to the security of person and not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment. States have a special responsibility to take measures to prevent hate-motivated killings, violent attacks, and torture and to promptly and thoroughly investigate such crimes and bring those responsible to justice.
However, in the different regions of Latin America, there is no official complete data on community violence, they are incomplete, and the statistics are scarce. In addition, some countries have systems to monitor, record, and report homophobic or transgender-motivated crimes at every point in society. In this context, a large number of people of gender-sex diversity are forced to flee their countries due to exclusion, discrimination, rejection, violence, and hate crimes that they experience within their families, in schools, in institutions, and in society in Peru. (UN, 2019)
Violence against the community occurs in the streets, public parks, schools, workplaces, and homes, where the vast majority flee or remain in hiding due to their sexual orientation, in fear of being discriminated against by society. Attacks against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity are often motivated by the desire to punish those who are perceived as challenging gender norms and are classified as acts of gender-based violence. That is why we need to educate the new generations to understand that everyone must be treated equally no matter their sexual orientation, skin color, nationality, etc.
For more information: A recommended podcast and two external articles are in the top three bars on the right side.
Donnelly-Drummond, A. (2021). LGBTQs and LAW'S Violence Within a Heteronormative Landscape. Frontiers in sociology, 6, 564028.https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.564028
Flores, A. R., Langton, L., Meyer, I. H. y Romero, A. P. (2020). Victimization rates and traits of sexual and gender minorities in the United States: Results from the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2017. Science Advances, 6(40). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba6910
Subhrajit, C. (2014). Problems Faced by LGBT People in the Mainstream Society: Some Recommendations. International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS), 1(5), pp. 317-331. https://www.ijims.com/uploads/cae8049d138e24ed7f5azppd_597.pdf
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