The October Center for Contemporary Culture hosted on the afternoon of Monday September 20 the colloquium on “Struggles and resistance of defenders of LGTBIQ+ rights in El Salvador”, within the framework of a project that was born in response to the protection needs of women defenders of sexual rights and other rights associated with gender identity and sexual orientation in the country. A colloquium that included the participation of Paula Morcillo – project director of the Foundation for Justice –, José de Lamo Pastor – General Director of Equality in Diversity –, Marta Bofi –social worker of the GVA Orienta service–, Lorena Sanz – lawyer from the Orienta service –, Karla Avelar y Bianka Rodriguez – defenders of LGTBIQ+ rights in El Salvador –.
This is a project that is framed within the V Director Plan of Valencian cooperation 2021-2024, pursuing the reduction of inequality and the defense of people's fundamental rights. Promoting, in turn, the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda 16 – peace, justice and strong institutions –, 17 – alliances to achieve objectives -, 5 - gender equality – and 10 – reduction of inequalities –.
In 2008 and after serving 5 years in prison, Karla Avelar became one of the four founders of COMCAVIS TRANS: “I had the opportunity to have been imprisoned and to have known the situation of my companions, I came out of that place very traumatized, but with a lot of strength and many commitments.” Thus, after realizing that circumstances had to change, they decided to claim themselves as women and work for those needs, creating the association on July 5, 2008 and receiving legal personality in 2011.
«I had the opportunity to have been imprisoned and to have known the situation of my companions», Karla Avelar.
Bianka Rodríguez stressed that El Salvador leads the second country with the highest rate of homicides of LGTBI people and made reference to the non-existence of the word “justice”: “In El Salvador there is no Bianka Rodríguez, in my identity document they still identify me with a male name and gender.” Likewise, he highlighted that the difficulty in obtaining a decent job forces many of them to practice prostitution – in unsustainable and dangerous circumstances – as a means of subsistence.
“In El Salvador there is no Bianka Rodríguez”, Bianka Rodríguez.
Unlike what happens in El Salvador, in Argentina and Switzerland the change of name and sex is allowed, but this requires a prior medical report. That is, a process that, as Karla Avelar defines it, is “traumatic”, since it is not the person themselves who defines their gender, but is left in the hands of a psychiatric examination. Thus, the “pathology” diagnosed towards trans people in El Salvador is called “gender incongruence”.
In reference to the main pursuit agents that force trans people to leave El Salvador, Bianka Rodríguez highlighted gangs, religious leaders, the extreme right and state security forces. A list to which Marta Bofí included the persecution of the family itself. Likewise, the risk of returning to Salvadoran territory once they have fled in search of protection to another country was highlighted.
“What is happening in El Salvador can also happen in Spain”, Bianka Rodríguez.
All this was highlighted by Bianka Rodríguez who warned that, even if you have all the rights, you have nothing gained and that "what is happening in El Salvador can also happen in Spain."