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By Juliana Quintana 

The Panambi association, representing transvestites, transsexuals, and transgender people, released its sixth report for 2018, titled “Situation of Violence Against Trans People in Paraguay.” The investigation details 68 reports of violence against trans people, including two transfemicides (Naomi Gomes Rivas, in the company of Naranjo, and Nikol Ortellado, in Puerto Obligado); 12 reports of discrimination and police violence; and five reports of state violence and discrimination in prisons.

The research was carried out within the framework of the project "Advancing rights for trans people", with the support of Diakonia Paraguay, a Swedish international cooperation organization that deals with projects focused on human rights.

The lead researcher of the report, Maximiliano Mendieta, and Panambi activists Yren Rotela and Mariana Sepúlveda presented the document on Tuesday at the Gran Hotel del Paraguay. Representatives from trans rights organizations attended, but no head of human rights from the executive branch was present.

[Paraguay: They tried to murder a trans woman with metal rods]

Prison and state violence

“The prison system is a ticking time bomb. Imagine being trans in a men’s prison. It’s terrible because there’s no official data on how many trans women are incarcerated. We compile this record as best we can, and we want these legal cases reviewed,” Yren told Presentes.

According to the material, in almost all sections of the 2018 report there was an increase in the rates of structural and social discrimination, violence and hate crimes towards the trans population in relation to what was recorded in the 2017 report.

Among other data collected during the investigation, they received complaints of state discrimination in 2018. Five occurred in the health sector, one in the Legislative Branch, five in the Public Prosecutor's Office, and three were hate crimes.

The report highlights the case of a 23-year-old trans person who died from poisoning due to the administration of an expired medication in the penitentiary of the Misiones department.

The Police, the main agent of violence

According to the document, the police are primarily responsible for physical violence and violations of the right to work. The most common forms of mistreatment include intimidation, threats, extortion, assault, unconstitutional deprivation of liberty, sexual abuse, and torture of transgender people, especially those engaged in sex work.

“We believe that these 68 cases represent less than 1% of what is actually happening because this data is limited to Asunción, a small part of San Lorenzo, and only in the area of ​​sex work. Trans people don't report these crimes. Obviously, this is due to fear of reprisals, impunity, and often because the perpetrators are the police themselves,” Maximiliano stated.

[READ ALSO: Four stories of everyday LGBTphobia and resistance in Paraguay]

During the past year, 12 complaints of discrimination and police violence were filed with Panambi. Only one victim filed a police report, "which demonstrates a lack of credibility, fear of reprisals, violence, corruption, impunity, and discrimination on the part of public officials," the researchers interpreted.

San Lorenzo, the most dangerous place

“San Lorenzo is where 90% of the complaints come from because that is where the police intimidate, bribe, persecute, sexually abuse, illegally detain both trans people and clients, and it is also the place where there is a lot of attack from the citizens: they throw stones, bottles, insult,” the report's researcher continued.  

Among the conclusions, the material argues that President Mario Abdo Benítez, who suggests a single family scheme, nuclear and heterosexual, establishes a "deeply intolerant and anti-democratic position that imposes the false idea that any family composition different from the traditional proposal is a threat."

Threats on the internet

Regarding social media, the report states that there is a constant pattern of violence against transgender people by users, which incites hatred and violence against members of this community. At the same time, these threats go unpunished due to the absence of a law against all forms of discrimination.

[READ ALSO: An evangelical NGO indoctrinates against LGBT people in Paraguayan schools]

Regarding hate crimes against transgender people, the report offers a series of recommendations to all branches of government on how to reverse this situation. Among these, it reinforces the importance of gender-inclusive education.

[READ ALSO: The Minister of Education supported the anti-rights march in Asunción]

With regard to the right to health, they warn that it is urgent to train medical personnel in the treatment of trans people and to guarantee access to a comprehensive, public and quality health system, complying with article 25 of the constitution, which enshrines "the right to the free expression of their personality, to creativity and to the formation of their own identity and image."

Finally, they request that each and every action of the Public Prosecutor's Office be addressed from a gender perspective, with access to justice without discrimination, public policies and a cultural change that involves education in human rights and diversity, with the unrestricted fulfillment of the fundamental rights of trans people.