This business has not changed for good. On the contrary, in 2013 NGO Citizen Action against AIDS (Accsi) drafted a report relying on surveys that showed -at least partially- the handful of degrading actions undergone by sexually diverse people from police agents and almost nil formal logging of related claims. In 2008, another report, containing a larger number of interviewees, delved into the matter and showed an even worse scenario marked by impunity. Now, a new survey gives a clue on a reality seemingly ignored by institutions: hate-bias crimes.

From 2009 to August 2013, at least 99 cases included in the category of hate crimes were perpetrated: 46 homicides and 53 attacks, namely "torture; cruel, inhuman and demeaning treatment; arbitrary detentions; oral, physical and psychological assailment; threats, police battering, and abuse of authority, among others." This is because of "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression of the victims, as reported by some media and claims from NGOs working with the community of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender persons, transsexuals, travesties and inter-sexual persons."

The numbers and quotes form part of the "Venezuela 2013 Report: Hate-bias crimes on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression." The paper was prepared by Accsi from the scanty access to such information: media and websites of other human rights advocates. While regarded by its authors as an analysis with preliminary results with the obvious under-recording of cases, its findings are still worrisome.

"The paper mirrors discrimination, violence and impunity suffered by LGBTI persons in Venezuela, something that has been published by some media and disclosed by very few NGOs," Alberto Nieves, of Accsi, explains. And he adds: "Out of this universe of citizens, transsexuals are most affected by hate crimes."

The analysis of data collected by Nieves and Argenis Mondragón, also of Accsi and co-author of the paper, reveals that "the dignity of LGBTI people is disrespected as a result of phobia prevailing in the Venezuelan society. Still worse, sexually diverse persons are helpless and forsaken by government agencies. A clear demonstration is a 55.56% hike of killings -14 cases- because of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression from January to August 2013 relative to nine cases the prior year."

What crime?

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) refers to hate crime as: "any crime or attempted crime due to prejudice towards and against the victim by reason of color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, origin, ethnic origin, legal status, birth, physical or mental disability, social status, religion, age, religious or political beliefs." This encompasses a wide array. "The range of criminal behaviors that could be motivated by hatred goes from oral threats to murder, to battering and sexual violence."

Nieves and Mondragón explain in their paper that ethnic minorities, women and sexual minorities are among the groups most amenable to become victims of such crimes. In addition, these actions send a clear message to the rest of minorities. Importantly, the authors caution: "While perpetrators are individuals or groups, hate crimes mostly rely on a dense cultural background of discrimination, refusal and scorn."

In a related article released in El Universal on March 13, 2011, Tamara Adrián, a lawyer and activist, elaborated on hate crimes. "Such category refers to aggressions and crime committed against somebody and associated with the attacker's bias, whether religious, racial, based on nationality or sexual orientation or real or perceived gender identity."

Nowadays, LGBTI Venezuela had proposed the National Assembly that Venezuelan laws should acknowledge the rights of sexually diverse persons and that criminal laws should include the designation of hate crime as an aggravating circumstance. None of that has been accomplished.

What has happened though, and it is highlighted in the Accsi report, is that the very National Assembly -and other government authorities- has made comments construed as encouraging homophobia and laying the foundations for hate crimes.

In the opinion of Nieves and Mondragón, "homophobic aggressions coming from top government officials are serious indeed." This is also the case for "a profound impunity, as there is lack of inquiries; the people responsible for hate crimes on the basis on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression of LGBTI victims are neither captured nor sued."

The paper (available at www.accsi.org.ve) produces evidence of 46 murders from January 2009 through August 2013, identified as hate crimes. As appears from 14 events reported in the first eight months, 2013 was featured as the most violent year on record. This is not at all surprising. Consider that according to NGO Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, the crime rate in Venezuela in 2013 neared 25,000 homicides.

Translated by Conchita Delgado Rivas