PBI-Honduras accompanies LGBTQI+ defenders at Pride March in Tegucigalpa where car hit transgender activist Megan Kerr

On July 31, PBI-Honduras posted:

“To end this #PrideMonth, we accompanied the organizations Asociación LGTB Arcoiris de Honduras and Somoscdc Hn during the closing march through the streets of Tegucigalpa. At PBI we highlight the work of all the organizations that work to defend LGTBI+ rights and we remember the importance of protecting the people of the collective, who every day suffer situations of violence and oppression. Also, we remember that tomorrow August 1 will be the anniversary of the Asociación LGTB Arcoiris de Honduras and we congratulate you on the great achievements and perseverance demonstrated in these years!”

Notably, Reportar sin Miedo has reported:

“”Watch out!” they shouted. Attendees at the 2023 LGBTIQ+ Pride March in Tegucigalpa, central Honduras, [on the evening of Saturday July 29] watched as a silver Honda sped over the wet street and raised a curtain of rainwater. They kept screaming when the car knocked Megan Kerr down and braked a few feet ahead. For a few seconds they believed that the violent blow had ended in tragedy.”

Megan says: “By God’s miracle he didn’t touch my feet or the car passed over me. People started moving the car backwards and they managed to get me out. It hit my knee and hip. I’ve been with hip and knee pain. I was inches away from that car running over me and leaving my legs broken.”

Photo: Megan Kerr.

PBI-Honduras has commented:

“We stand in solidarity with transgender defender Megan Kerr of the Honduran LGTB Rainbow Association after the outrage that occurred during the Pride March in Tegucigalpa. We recognize the important work that Megan does in favor of LGTBI+ rights in the country. We are concerned about the hate speech and transphobia that prevail in Honduran society and that constitute a risk for people from the LGTBI+ collective. We remember that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, through the sentence of Vicky Hernández and others vs. State of Honduras, made several recommendations to guarantee the rights of trans people in Honduras, some of which are still pending.”

IACHR ruling

In June 2021, The Guardian reported: “In a landmark ruling for transgender rights, the Honduras government has been found responsible for the 2009 murder of the trans woman and activist Vicky Hernández.”

“Hernández was killed on the first night of the June 2009 coup d’état, in which the Honduran military ousted President Manuel Zelaya.”

“Lawyers working on Hernández’s case argued that state agents actually committed the murder. …The court ruling, which ordered Honduras to restart its investigation into Hernández’s death, found ‘several indications of the participation of state agents.’”

“The court [also] ordered Honduras, which has the world’s highest rate of murders of trans people, to pay reparations to Hernández’s family and implement a sweeping range of measures designed to protect trans people, including anti-discrimination training for security forces and state collection of data on violence against LGBTQ+ people.”

“[And the IACHR] ruled that the state must allow people to alter their gender identity on identification documents and public records.”

The Trans Legal Mapping Report notes that in Honduras it’s “not possible” to change your name and that it’s “forbidden by law to make any modification of the sex assigned in the original birth certificate.”

Ongoing PBI accompaniment

Most recently, PBI-Honduras tweeted:

“Yesterday we visited @arcoirisghn as a follow-up to our accompaniment. The association shows concern for the increase in violence against the group. We remember the importance of protecting LGTBI+ people and investigating cases of violence they have suffered.”

The PBI-Honduras Project has accompanied the Centre for LGTBI Development and Cooperation (Somos-CDC) since January 2022 and the LGTB Rainbow Association of Honduras (Arcoiris) since July 2015.