International Human Rights Court Rules in Favor of Trans Rights

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Honduras was responsible for the 2009 murder of a transgender woman. Today, Honduras is one of the largest contributors to anti-trans violence in Latin America. 

Transgender pride flags. Ted Eytan. CC BY-SA 2.0 

On June 26, the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights delivered a landmark ruling in a transgender rights case. The court held that the government of Honduras was responsible for the 2009 murder of trans woman and trans rights activist Vicky Hernández, stating that the government had violated Hernández’s rights to life and fair trial. 

Hernández was 26 years old when she was killed by a single gunshot to the head. No one was ever charged for the crime. 

The Court’s ruling stated that Honduran authorities did not sufficiently investigate Hernández’s death. Her murder was dismissed quickly as a “crime of passion,” and police failed to interview anyone from the scene or examine the bullet casing. It is unclear whether a postmortem examination was performed. 

Lawyers acting on behalf of Cattrachas, the LGBTQ+ rights organization that brought forward the case, argued that this incomplete investigation was a result of Hernández’s gender identity. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights reports that during the investigation, authorities continuously identified Hernández as male and referred to her on documents and records by her birth name, which she did not use. In 2009, shortly before Hernández’s killing, Human Rights Watch published a report which found that police in Honduras routinely failed to investigate reports filed by trans people. The report also detailed the harassment and beatings that trans people had endured at the hands of the police. 

Hernández’s murder occurred on June 28, 2009, the first night of a military coup against then-President Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya was taken into custody, and the military imposed a 48-hour curfew, leaving the streets closed to everyone but military and police forces. Hernández was a sex worker, and was still on the street after curfew arrived, along with two other trans women. The three women saw a police car approaching and scattered, fearing violence. The next morning, Hernández’s body was found in the street. 

Due to the circumstances surrounding her death, lawyers for Hernández’s case posited that she was the victim of an extrajudicial killing, meaning that state agents were responsible for her death. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights points to the execution-style way in which Hernández was shot and the fact that the streets were closed to everyone but police and military forces, as well as the lack of effort put into the criminal investigation. 

In its ruling, the Court found evidence that state agents had participated in Hernández’s death. 

Hernández’s murder was the first in a wave of anti-trans violence that followed the 2009 coup. Cattrachas documented 20 deaths of LGBTQ+ people in the 15 years before the coup, and 31 deaths in the eight months directly afterward. 15 of these 31 people were trans women, like Hernández.

Today, Latin America is still a deadly area for LGBTQ+ people. Research released in 2019 showed that four LGBTQ+ people are murdered every day in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Honduras, Columbia and Mexico accounting for nearly 90 percent of these deaths. In 2020, Human Rights Watch published a follow-up to their 2009 report, which found that LGBTQ+ Hondurans still face rampant discrimination and violence from police and other authorities, as well as from non-state actors. 

Twelve years after Hernández’s murder, Honduras is finally being held accountable for its anti-LGBTQ+ violence and being made to implement reforms. Activists hope that the ruling will encourage other Latin American countries to address their own issues with violence against the LGBTQ+ community. 

The Court’s ruling included orders for the Honduran government to pay reparations to Hernández’s family, restart its investigation into her murder and publicly acknowledge its own role in the event, train security forces on cases involving LGBTQ+ violence, and keep a better record of cases motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. The Court also ordered the Honduran government to allow people to change their gender identity in documents and public records, which is a major step forward. The next step is ensuring that Honduras’ new LGBTQ+ legislation is actually enforced. 


Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

UK Considers Bill Outlawing Protests that Cause ‘Annoyance’

British lawmakers are debating a bill that would give police greater authority to curb protests. The legislation comes amid a series of ongoing protests regarding violence toward women and the abuse of police power. 

The U.K. Parliament is currently debating a bill that would outlaw any protest that causes “serious annoyance,” brought forward by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill could see protesters facing prison sentences of up to 10 years and would limit the right to protest outside of Parliament. 

The second reading of the bill took place on March 16, just days after police physically restrained people attending a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard. Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, disappeared from a busy London street on March 3 and her remains were later found in Kent. On March 12, police officer Wayne Couzens was arrested and charged with Everard’s kidnapping and murder. 

Everard’s murder sparked a number of protests calling for action to prevent violence against women. Many women shared their own stories of harassment. Vigils were also organized in Everard’s honor, including one on Clapham Common, a park near where Everard was last seen. Police warned against holding a vigil at this location due to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, but the vigil proceeded. Hundreds came to peacefully pay tribute to Everard and stand in solidarity against violence toward women. In the evening, police arrived at the vigil and began handcuffing attendees. Four women were arrested. Footage and photos of the police physically restraining women, forcing them to the ground and leading them into police vans began circulating on social media, leading to a new round of protests, this time focused on the police. 

Protesters gathered outside London police headquarters on March 14 before proceeding to another rally outside of Parliament, where they called for the resignations of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and British Home Secretary Priti Patel. Protests continued the next day and are ongoing. 

On March 16, as protests continued outside Parliament, lawmakers inside the building allowed the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to proceed to the next stage of debate. A Downing Street spokesperson insisted that the bill will not infringe upon people’s right to protest peacefully, but the vague language of the bill has many worried about how loosely it will be interpreted. If passed, the bill would give police much greater authority to curb protests that cause “serious disruption” or “serious annoyance” to passersby, terms which could be applied to nearly any protest. 

The bill has faced widespread criticism and is regarded by many as an attack on civil liberties. Over 150 organizations sent an open letter to Patel, who oversees U.K. law enforcement, expressing their opposition to the legislation. 

Parliament member Gavin Robinson voiced the concerns held by many protesters regarding the bill, saying that, “Protests will be noisy, protests will disrupt and no matter how offensive we may find the issue at their heart, the right to protest should be protected.”

Rather than listening to protesters’ concerns about violence against women and the abuse of police power, the government instead has focused its resources on limiting citizens’ voices.



Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.