A trans woman was attacked in El Salvador, and the police refused to take her report.

Three private security guards brutally beat a 25-year-old transgender woman. The police refused to take her complaint.

December 10, 2019

By Paula Rosales

Alexia Trujillo, a 25-year-old trans woman, was walking in the early hours of Saturday, December 7, along Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero Avenue in San Salvador, when three men who work as private security guards in the area attacked her, according to the victim's own report.

Armed with an iron club, the attackers followed Alexia for about 100 meters, insulted her, and repeatedly struck her on the head. They savagely injured her eyebrow and right eye. Her head suffered a three-centimeter wound. Her arms and legs were covered in bruises from the kicks she received.

“I was walking through Morazán Square when some security guards insulted me and followed me. I didn't say anything to them or do anything to them. The three of them gave me a really bad beating,” Alexia told Presentes. Alexia sells various items in one of the markets in the capital of the Central American country.

The report “Stop trans genocide”, presented in 2019 by the Solidarity Association to Promote Human Development – ASPIDH Arcoíris Trans, indicates that 19 percent of trans women reported that they were beaten or suffered some physical aggression during 2018.

“They called me a fucking faggot, a piece of AIDS-ridden trash, they insulted me terribly. The three of them beat me and stole my belongings,” he said.

The police refused to help her.

After the attack, Alexia went to the central station of the National Civil Police to file a complaint, but they refused to assist her and she was removed from the premises.

Presentes requested the police's position from the press unit, they agreed to consult with the San Salvador delegation, but at the time of closing the note no response had been received.

“We are outraged. Trans women are being attacked by private security guards . We demand that the perpetrators be investigated and punished,” Odalys Araujo, a human rights defender, told Presentes.

Hate crimes on the rise

Attacks against transgender women have increased in the last quarter of the year: four hate crimes were reported in just one month and three days. Human rights organizations are alarmed by the escalating intolerance toward diverse populations.

Anahy Miranda Rivas, 27 years old, was murdered in the early hours of Sunday, October 27, on a busy avenue in San Salvador.

On November 9, Jade Camila Díaz, a trans activist, was found murdered in the department of Morazán , in northeastern El Salvador.

On Saturday, November 16, Victoria Pineda was brutally murdered on a street in the Cara Sucia canton, Ahuachapán department. https://agenciapresentes.org/2019/11/19/asesinaron-a-otra-trans-en-el-salvador-3-transfemicidios-en-menos-de-un-mes/

Rosa Granados, a 28-year-old trans activist, was murdered on Saturday, November 30, at her home in the department of La Unión; she was shot four times in the head.

In 2015, El Salvador's Congress reformed the penal code to criminalize offenses based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. However, to date, all such cases remain unpunished.

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