The Sí a la Vida Foundation, which promotes “the recovery of ethical and moral values, respect for life from conception to natural death, the strengthening of the family, and respect for the dignity of the person,” has raised concerns among LGBT+ human rights organizations because it fuels hate speech. According to speaker Rubén García, it is possible to “prevent homosexuality.” He believes that if the parents of these individuals had received information on prevention, “there wouldn’t be such high rates of homosexuality and lesbianism.” García is a Catholic preacher and evangelist, author of the book “A Homosexual Touched by God’s Mercy.” He asserts that “with affection, approval, and protection, it is possible to prevent homosexuality” and says it is a “trendy topic in the media.”

#InBrief Rubén García shares his life story and gives us a preview of the conference he will be giving in the country, titled: “The Family Facing Gender Ideology.” https://t.co/Zy7cPLIl2w

— Face to Face TCS (@Frentea_Frente) March 6, 2019

  In El Salvador, the forum was promoted in the most widely circulated media outlets. For various activists and human rights defenders, the media's openness to these debates without considering the LGBT community promotes hatred and misinformation in Salvadoran society. "People who proclaim this hate speech against the LGBT community increase violence and misinformation in society," Mónica Linares, director of the Solidarity Association to Promote Human Development (ASPIDH), told Presentes. The forums were held in two of the three countries with the highest number of homophobic attacks in the Central American region: Guatemala and El Salvador, according to the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy (IEEPP). In a report The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) explained that one of the main causes of violence against LGBTQ+ people lies in moral prejudices. “It is a violation of human rights; they are spreading a message of hate against LGBT people,” Bianka Rodríguez, director of COMCAVIS TRANS, told Presentes. The IEPP study concluded that the context of violence in Guatemala and El Salvador is such that members of LGBTQ+ movements, as well as unorganized members of the community, must emigrate to Mexico given the conditions of aggression and intolerance that exist in those countries.