Report for the Committee against Torture during its
revision of the combined 3rd and 4th periodic reports submitted by the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (53rd period of sessions, November 3-28, 2014)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons
The definition of torture includes the prohibition of “discrimination of any kind” including discrimination based on sexual orientation(1), or gender identity and expression(2). In Venezuela Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex persons are dehumanized by cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, which is generally not reflected in official statistics kept by State institutions. There is no precise data available due to the lack of complaints made by victims, caused by fears of being re-victimized and mistrust in the justice system.
Hate crimes and acts of discrimination (LGBTI)
Police officers and members of the National Guard have been systematically identified by victims as perpetrators of violence against LGBTI persons, including through disproportionate use of force and violation of the physical, mental and moral integrity of LGBTI persons who work within the security forces, those who attempt to use police services or those being held in detention.
There are an increasing number of reports of arbitrary arrests and illegal raids, with the aim of arresting LGBTI groups, who are treated with excessive violence by the State security forces, including threats and demeaning and discriminatory language. For example, in October 2009, officers of the Caracas Police during a joint procedure with officials from the National Guard and the Ministry of Popular Power for the Interior and Justice arrested 19 gays and lesbians in Villaflor Street in the El Recreo district of the capital city Caracas; 11 of these people were teenagers. Most were stripped of their belongings, cell phones and IDs, subjected to inhuman and degrading verbal abuse related to their sexual orientation, and physically beaten(3).
The case of Avenida Libertador, Caracas.
In October 2012, officers from the Office of Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations (CICPC) arbitrarily detained 23 Trans women in Libertador Avenue, Caracas, using excessive force and intimidation with firearms, and transferred them to the CICPC facilities in Paraíso allegedly to question them in relation to the murder of a man which occurred in early September. Four of the detainees: Dixon Hidalgo (Alejandra), Daniel Díaz (Danielis), Juan Basanta (Barbara) and Ender Veliz were subjected to electric shock torture, suffered physical abuse to different parts of the body and face, and verbal abuse related to their sexual orientation and gender identity, when they refused to provide information about the case to CICPC officials and protested in the facilities about the way in which the rest of their companions were being treated at the police station. To date there has been no official response as to whether investigations have been initiated(4).
In May 2013, members of the National Guard attacked a group of trans women in Libertador Avenue resulting in one woman suffering a bullet wound to her foot.
In response to this pattern of attacks against LGBTI people which are prohibited by the Convention against Torture and other standards, the State security agencies have not included specific training programs on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression to eradicate such conduct, the perpetrators are not punished, and there is no reparation for the victims.
The Venezuela Diversa civil association has registered from 2008 to 2013, 17 murders of trans people and gay people in the city of Caracas and in the states of Vargas and Miranda, all in degrading conditions with signs of torture, the victims having been subjected to multiple stab wounds, blows with blunt instruments to the head and bullet wounds in different parts of the body(5).
Such cases have gone unpunished due to the failure of justice administrators and criminal investigation bodies, who have dismissed these cases considering the victims to be people who violate decency and good manners because of their lifestyle, the type of work they do, their socioeconomic status, and because they pose a threat to family life and the stability of children(6).
Degrading treatment in health centers, schools, and prisons
In healthcare establishments, LGBTI people are subjected to psychological abuse, distress, humiliation and discrimination when they require healthcare in general and especially when they go for treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS.
In public and private education at all levels, people who define themselves as LGBTI or those who are perceived as such, are often the victims of teasing, harassment, physical punishment and degrading treatment by other students and even teachers, situations which lead to students dropping out of school due to a lack of plans, programs and actions aimed to punish and eradicate such acts(7).
In October 2012, in the municipality of Francisco Linares Alcántara in Aragua State, Angello Alfredo Prado Perdomo , an 18 year-old gay man, was doused with gasoline and set on fire, causing third-degree burns to thirty percent (30%) of his body, which occurred after he was bullied and harassed at secondary school where he was studying for his final exams(8).
In prisons, LGBTI individuals and groups are subjected to psychological, physical and sexual attack, while held together with the general Venezuelan prison population. They also suffer poor prison conditions and lack of provision of basic services, the use of excessive force by security forces and prison guards, high rates of prison violence and a lack of effective control by the authorities.
Imprisoning trans women with men disregards their identities and causes a high level of emotional distress and acute anxiety, which may amount to torture. As for gay and bisexual men, they suffer from macho and sexist stereotyping in which they are regarded as weak (effeminate) and willing to consent to any sexual contact with other men. In the case of lesbian and bisexual women, the risk of sexual violence and abuse originates from prison officials themselves or other women detainees.
Publicado en:
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1261309.htmlEscrito por: Yonatan Matheus -Venezuela Diversa AC
