International Desk (EFE).- Amid a backdrop of progressive laws in some nations, violence against LGBT+ people continues to rise throughout the Americas, with 2023 and 2024 marked by alarming levels of deadly attacks.
According to the latest report by the Sin Violencia network, 364 LGBT individuals were murdered in ten Latin American countries in 2023, including Mexico, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
In Brazil, the Grupo Gay da Bahia reports one violent death every 34 hours.
Colombia, where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2016, recorded 43 homicides of LGBT people in the first five months of 2025 alone.
In 2024, sexual violence against this population rose by 3.8%, with 689 reported cases, nearly two per day.
Half of these victims were lesbian or bisexual women.
In Brazil, 106 trans people were killed in 2024, accounting for 30% of all trans murders globally, according to Trans Murder Monitoring.
Meanwhile, Mexico registered 148 LGBT killings last year, over half of them trans women, despite legal advances in marriage equality and gender recognition in several states.
Honduras remains one of the most dangerous countries, with at least 565 LGBT people killed since 2004 and a staggering 98% of cases going unpunished, according to the Observatory of Violence Against LGBT+ People.
Legal protections are uneven and regressive
While Argentina led the way in Latin America by legalizing same-sex marriage in 2010, many countries, particularly in Central America and the Caribbean, have made a little to no progress.
Homosexuality remains criminalized in five Caribbean nations: Jamaican, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, all enforcing colonial-era laws.
Peru remains firmly against marriage equality, with a 2024 Ipsos poll showing 66% public opposition.
In contrast, Argentina and Ecuador allow gender change based on self-identification, while countries like Cuba and Panama still require surgery-
Most Central America and Caribbean nations lack any legal pathway for gender transition.
Intersex protections are virtually non-existent, with only Colombia and Chile placing restrictions on non-consensual surgeries on intersex children, a practice condemned by Human Rights Watch.
“In several countries, our very existence is questioned, if not criminalized. Even in places with legal protection, hate persists,” said Camila Rodríguez, a trans right advocate in Ecuador.
Political backlash in the US and Argentina
The rollback of LGBT rights has gained traction in both the United States and Argentina under conservative administrations.
Since returning to office, United States President Donald Trump has rescinded the legal recognition of non-binary identities, eliminated the “X” gender marker from passports, barred trans women from female sports teams, and reinstated the military ban on transgender service members.
He has also pressured companies to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
“These actions aren’t just policy decisions, they are clear messages that our lives are not valued,” said Sarah McBride, a US state senator and LGBT rights activist.
In Argentina, President Javier Milei’s administration has dismantled key institutions such as the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity and the National Institute Against Discrimination (INADI), triggering what activists call an institutional vacuum.
Public discrimination from officials, including Milei’s remarks linking homosexuality to pedophilia, has fueled a climate of hostility.
In 2024, public space attacks against LGBT people in Argentina rose by 53% and murders nearly doubled to 140 cases, according to the National Observatory of LGBT+ Hate Crimes.
Even in progressive countries like Chile, setbacks persist.
The LGBT group MOVILH denounced the state’s refusal to classify the killings of trans women as femicides, despite a 78.7% rise in discrimination complaints in 2024.
Still, progress continues in some corners. Cuba is expected to approve a civil registry law in July that would allow gender changes without surgery or court order.
Ecuador passed a similar law in 2023. Colombia’s Congress is currently debating a Comprehensive Trans Law to guarantee equal access to healthcare, education, and employment.
“Progress is possible, but fragile,” warned María Rachid, a prominent human rights lawyer in Buenos Aires. “Without political will and public support, rights can be taken away as quickly as they’re won.” EFE
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