By María Sanz, from Asunción. Several transgender sex workers were  in an area near the university campus in San Lorenzo (Greater Asunción) last night when a man approached one of them and, without saying a word, stabbed her several times. The victim of the attack (28 years old, whose identity is being withheld for her safety) received three stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. "Her colleagues quickly rushed to her aid, while the attacker fled. His whereabouts are unknown," transgender activist Yren Rotela, from the organization Panambi, told Presentes . Rotela explained that the victim was rushed to the Calle'i hospital and later transferred to the Trauma Hospital in Asunción. She remains hospitalized there in serious condition due to internal bleeding. She is scheduled to undergo surgery afterward. The case has been reported to the police. Rotela stated that this attack demonstrates the violence that trans people suffer “all the time.” “This isn’t a settling of scores. It’s a direct attack on her (the victim), by someone who seeks to violate our bodies,” she declared.

A “scenario of hate” against trans people

The activist also warned that this attack comes at a time when a climate of hatred against LGBTQ+ people is prevalent in the Paraguayan media, which is translating into aggression. “When hatred takes hold and misinformation spreads, it increases the emotional reaction of many people against us. These people see us as something bad, and that is how they are attacking us,” she stated. Rotela is referring to the controversy created in recent weeks in Paraguay by the dissemination of a WhatsApp audio message that spoke of the alleged “imposition of gender ideology” on students in schools. In response to the controversy, The Paraguayan Ministry of Education itself ordered the removal the contents relating to the “gender” of the curriculum.

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Furthermore, a peaceful demonstration is planned for tomorrow in front of the Paraguayan Congress to demand explanations from the Minister of Education, Enrique Riera, regarding these contents. The demonstration, promoted by organizations calling themselves “for life and family,” will demand the definitive removal of “all materials with a gender focus, gender perspective, gender equity or gender asymmetry”. The campaign's slogan is "There are many, many more of us who are in favor of life and the family composed of a father and a mother." In 2016, a total of 87 reports of violence against transgender people were registered in Paraguay. according to the latest Panambi report. Furthermore, since the fall of the dictatorship in 1989, there have been 57 cases of transgender people murdered. Most of these crimes remain unpunished.