Video: trans woman murdered in Dominican Republic

Source: TRANSSA (Trans Siempre Amigas) (Via Google translate)

10 May a 27 year old trans woman, Leonel Carmona Adames (Naomi), was found battered to death in her house in Villa Altagracia, a town north of the capital of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo.

The cause of death is unknown but the body was found in a pool of blood with a 5 gallon gas tank beside her head. Because of the state of the room it is presumed that a fight took place. A used condom was also found and a pornographic film was playing on the TV.

Hundreds of fellow sex workers showed up in tears and anger and demanded to see her body, which the authorities agreed to.

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In the Caribbean, homophobia varies widely

Mariela Castro at Cuba IDAHO rally

Source: IPS

By Dalia Acosta

Note: Trinidad & Tobago's Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) comment that this article includes innacuracies:

"the frequency of sentences for buggery in Jamaica; the range of penalties (that extend to life in two territories); the role of CARICOM or its member nations in hosting regional GLBT activity; ILGA's impact in the region. We'd welcome journalism that simply talked to folks in the organizations cited here."

~~~~~

While homosexuality is punishable by law in nine Caribbean island nations, gay activism is increasingly taking root in countries like Cuba.

"The situation in the Caribbean today is one of contrasts," Gloria Careaga, co-secretary general of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), founded in 1978 and with close to 700 member groups in over 110 countries, told IPS.

Differences are greatest between the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking areas of the Caribbean, Careaga, a Mexican psychologist who is also in charge of the Latin American and Caribbean region (ILGA-LAC), said by email on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Tuesday May 17.

Careaga said "clear" signs of progress were the work of Cuban institutions in favour of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and of strengthening their groups, the growing presence of studies on sexual diversity in Puerto Rican universities, and the emergence of lesbian organisations in the Dominican Republic.

However, "the English-speaking Caribbean seems to be unable to shake off the influence of Victorian morality, and not only maintains laws that criminalise gays and lesbians, but also argues the case for homophobia, for instance in Jamaica," she said.

A national survey carried out in Jamaica by the University of the West Indies in 2010 found that 89 percent of respondents were homophobic. The study polled 1,007 adults from 231 communities in the island nation.

Jamaican courts often sentence men who have sex with men (MSM) to prison terms with hard labour.

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