While policies protecting the rights of the LGBTIQ community are advancing in Latin America, where equal marriage is legal in eight countries and several Mexican states, Venezuela remains on the fringes of this trend.
There is no legislation on sex change or legal name in the country and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (ICHR) denounced "arbitrary actions and abuses of authority committed by Venezuelan security agents that denote prejudice related to sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, as well as sexual characteristics of individuals."
In early June, media outlets reported that a male couple was reprimanded by security guards at a Caracas shopping mall for holding hands. The action was responded by a protest of the LGBTIQ community that consisted of walking around the mall holding hands and kissing in public, but the demonstration ended in violence because some people who were in the mall assaulted the activists with blows and insults.
Homophobia is not only manifested against couples who dare to show their affection in public, there are also attacks against what happens behind closed doors.
The Avalon Club Case
On Sunday, July 23, 2023, the Bolivarian National Police of Venezuela entered without a search warrant the Avalon Club in Valencia, Carabobo state, and detained 33 members from the LGBTIQ community. All this at the request of an anonymous caller denouncing "an orgy of people with HIV" in the place. Those present were jailed and their ID cards were displayed, along with condoms, as evidence of the "crime."
Three days later, 30 of the detainees were released, and the other three spent 10 days in jail before being released under a presentation regime, which means limited freedom and the obligation to appear in court periodically. Finally, on August 15, after an extensive campaign of support on social networks, they were acquitted.
Intolerant Discourse Replicated in the Media
The action of the State was described by activists as discriminatory and homophobic, and the conversation that arose in social networks from this fact demonstrated the high degree of intolerance in Venezuela and how vulnerable the LGBTIQ community is to have their rights violated.
All this replicated by media outlets that multiply an "irresponsible and stigmatizing" discourse, according to National College of Journalists, which called on its aggregates to review its code of ethics. .
The case of the 33 in Valencia has been iconic in the criminalization of diversity, but it has not been the only one. In February of this year, a young model was arrested in Maracaibo, Zulia state, for taking pictures of himself dressed as an angel in front of La Chinita basilica.
The parish priest of the church accused him of "an attitude that submits to the scorn of good morals, by the way he is dressed." The police publication describes: "implicit images that disturbed society, where a subject is shown dressed in an indecorous manner (...) without caring about the presence of children, an activity that violates good morals and family order".
The model was charged with indecent assault, banned from leaving the country for eight months and released under a 30-day reporting requirement.
Politically Motivated Discrimination
The Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ Violence documented 461 cases during 2023, where "half were discriminatory speeches that occurred in a context of impunity and state homophobia." Five of these cases were murders, four of them against trans people. The coordinator of the organization, Yendri Velásquez, "does not rule out that more cases have occurred. However, some factors make it impossible for these cases to be properly documented, such as the lack of awareness of journalists and media to respect the identities or because the attacks are not reported".
The organization notes that, with 2024 being a presidential election year in Venezuela, bigoted discourse has escalated. "The increase in discriminatory speeches based on prejudices by State officials occurs in the context of an alliance with evangelical groups, framed in the electoral moment we are currently experiencing. Due to this alliance, we estimate that these speeches will increase their intensity and level of aggressiveness against LGBTIQ people". .
Visibilization of these cases by activists and international pressure are crucial to foster a safer and more equitable environment. In a context where other Latin American countries are making progress in protecting the rights of LGBTIQ people, it is imperative that Venezuela also take concrete steps to eradicate discrimination and guarantee equal rights for all its citizens.
Contact us! We are here to accompany you in your sexual and reproductive health decisions.
Download the app Aya Contigo.
Comments