By María Sanz, from Asunción. On Friday night, 20-year-old Sheyla Brítez was in the red-light district of San Lorenzo (Greater Asunción). According to her colleagues, an argument broke out between another sex worker and a client, and Sheyla intervened to defend her coworker. It was then that the client attacked her and fled. He has not yet been located. Sheyla suffered ten stab wounds all over her body and a large cut on her forehead. Her colleagues alerted the police, and officers took her to the Trauma Hospital in Asunción. She remains hospitalized in serious condition and requires a ventilator, according to trans activist Yren Rotela, who is assisting with the case, as reported to Presentes .

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Rotela explained that Sheyla still needs to undergo several medical tests to assess whether the injuries affected her internal organs. Due to the severe storm that hit Asunción last night, several diagnostic devices were not working when Sheyla was admitted. The trans activist also stated that Sheyla is currently homeless. Her family was notified of the attack and is filing a police report.

Second attack against a trans woman in four days

The attack against Sheyla is the second one recorded in the last four days in the Greater Asunción area. On Tuesday night, another trans sex workerThe 28-year-old was stabbed twice while in her work area, also in San Lorenzo. Rotela said she is now in stable condition, although she remains hospitalized awaiting surgery. Rotela recounted that, in recent months, attacks against transgender people have increased. “They drive by and throw bottles, stones, eggs… They yell at us, insult us, and abuse us in every way,” she said. “We want the justice system to investigate these cases. We need to take action against this increase in violence against us. Now, if you hear a car speeding down the street, you run to hide. And we have the right not to live in hiding, nor in fear. The feeling on the street is one of constant alert, of great fear, of waiting for something to happen to us. In the 23 years I've been a sex worker, I've never felt as much persecution as I do today,” she declared.

Trans people are more exposed to violence

The activist also stated that trans women are more exposed to violence because most of them engage in sex work on the street. “It’s the only job option we have. The problem is that with the rise of (religious) fundamentalism, we won’t be able to have public policies that give us another job alternative. They don’t want us working, but they also don’t want us on the street, so what are we going to do?” she asked.

[READ ALSO: Paraguay: Trans people doubled their reports of violence]

Rotela referred to labor inclusion measures, such as trans job quotas, being adopted by countries like Argentina. She stated that in Paraguay, it is difficult for these types of laws to advance due to the strong pressure exerted by religious groups on legislators. These same religious groups have, in recent weeks, fueled a rise in fundamentalist and hateful rhetoric against the LGBTI community. Rotela believes that this rhetoric is directly related to the recent attacks against two trans women. “We are taking a huge step backward,” she declared.

Hate speech is on the rise

On Thursday, October 5, more than a thousand people demonstrated in the square between the Congress and the Cathedral of Asunción against the so-called “gender ideology”. The protesters, among whom were religious people, members of the ultraconservative Somos Más movement, and a good number of children, displayed banners with messages such as "God created man and woman," and in defense of the family composed of a man and a woman.

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Meanwhile, inside the Congress building, a ceremony was held a public hearing on the inclusion of so-called “gender ideology” in school teaching materials. At this event, the Minister of Education, Enrique Riera, declared that the Ministry will promote traditional family values ​​and marriage between a man and a woman in schools. Furthermore, He offered to "burn the books" that contain content about gender. The day before, several organizations integrated into the Paraguayan Human Rights Coordinator (Codehupy) sent a Letter to Minister Riera They criticized the order to remove materials on gender equality from school curricula. “We are surprised that this measure has been taken in the context of the debate that has arisen in recent weeks, promoted by religious groups that have disseminated a campaign of manipulation and distortion of the gender perspective through various media,” part of the letter states. The origin of this controversy lies in a WhatsApp audio message, circulated in September, in which a supposed student described how students at her school were being taught about gender. This recording prompted protests from ultraconservative movements and led the Ministry of Education to assure that it would eliminate all gender-related content from school teaching materials.