More than 200 LGBT people murdered in Honduras in just six years

Violence against the LGBT community has skyrocketed in the last few years, a new report has found.

215 LGBT activists in Hondurans have been murdered in the past six years alone, and they also face the widespread threat of imprisonment and torture.

The shocking figure comes despite the fact that statistics show on average just two LGBT people were murdered each year between 1994-2008.

A new report by Duncan Tucker was published yesterday April 20) on the Index on Censorship’s website reveals that after 2009, the rate jumped to almost 31 murders a year, with 37 recorded deaths in 2015 alone.

Out of the 235 recorded murders of LGBT people since 1994, only 48 cases have gone to court.

Speaking to Index on Censorship, Honduran gay rights activist, Danny Reyes said “I’ve been imprisoned on many occasions. I’ve suffered torture and sexual violence because of my activism, and I’ve survived many assassination attempts.”

London-based LGBT campaigner Peter Tatchell says the world needs to pay more attention to the shocking spate of violence.

“This extensive, shocking mob violence against LGBT Hondurans is almost unreported in the rest of the world. The big international LGBT organisations tend to focus on better-known homophobic repression in countries like Egypt, Russia, Iran and Uganda. What’s happening in Honduras is many times worse.”

Vicky Baker, the deputy editor of Index on Censorship’s magazine explained why it was crucial that more attention was paid to the country.

“You know you have a very serious situation on your hands when you are researching a topic and every time you find someone you want to speak to, you delve deeper and find they have been killed. At Index on Censorship, we work with a lot of endangered activists and reporters, but these threats are terrifying. Speaking out on an unpopular topic in Honduras is like a death sentence.”

You can read the full report on Index on Censorship’s website.

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