Hate crimes in El Salvador: two trans women murdered in one week
The murder of two transgender women in El Salvador has raised alarms within the LGBT community, which is demanding clear answers from authorities and that the crimes be solved. These two cases bring the total number of LGBT people murdered in the country to three so far in 2019.
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By Paula Rosales, from San Salvador
Cover illustration: Florencia Capella
[News in progress]
The murder of two transgender women in El Salvador has raised alarms within the LGBT community, which is demanding clear answers from authorities and that the crimes be solved. These two cases bring the total number of LGBT people murdered in the country to three so far in 2019. While the victim's identity has not been officially confirmed in the third case, organizations assert that the person is LGBT.
The two trans femicides were not recorded by the National Civil Police (PNC) or the Attorney General's Office (FGR) because the victims were taken to public hospitals after the attack, where they died. The final report was filed at the hospitals and not as separate incidents of violence.
The transfemicide of Camila
On the night of January 30, Camila, a 29-year-old sex worker, left for 29th Street West, in the northern part of the capital, San Salvador. “She left around 5:30 or 6:00 pm and we haven't heard from her since that Wednesday night, nor has she returned home,” Virginia, a friend of the victim, told Presentes. Virginia confirmed that she contacted Camila the same night she was attacked.
[READ ALSO: Karla Avelar: "In El Salvador there is a genocide of LGBTI people"]
According to Virginia, there are two hypotheses. One is that her colleague Camila had been harassed by other sex workers with whom she shared a space on one of the main thoroughfares of the capital, which is full of bars, nightclubs and auto parts stores.
Another hypothesis suggests that Camila's own coworkers testified that the young woman was beaten by the police and found several kilometers from where she usually offered her services. Presentes sought an official statement from the police, but at the time of publication, there was no response.
Camila was found on Thursday the 31st and taken to the Rosales National Hospital, where she died three days later, the causes of which are unknown.
[READ ALSO: The journey of Julissa, a Salvadoran trans woman who left in the migrant caravan]
“I would suggest you call the institutions that help them. Because I don’t dare investigate since we’ve already had situations where they get upset about their condition,” a spokesperson for Rosales Hospital told Presentes.
Murdered with machetes
The second hate crime victim was recorded on Friday, February 8, in the department of Sonsonate, west of the capital, when unknown individuals attacked Lolita, a 20-year-old transgender woman, with machetes. Lolita was taken to the Jorge Mazzini Hospital, where she died from her extensive injuries.
“We demand justice from the Salvadoran State for the impunity surrounding the murders of our LGBT population, and the brutal femicides of our trans women,” said Mónica Linares, director of the ASPIDH Arcoiris Trans Association.
Official statistics indicate that El Salvador recorded a homicide rate of 50.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the world.
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