More than 200 LGBT people have been killed in Mexico in just three years
At least 202 LGBT people have been murdered over the past three years in Mexico.
That’s an average of six homicides every month between 2014 and 2016.
The figures show a disproportionate number of trans women were victims, making up 108 – more than half – of those murdered.
93 of the victims were gay men, while one lesbian woman was killed.
“Trans women are the most exposed to this type of lethal violence,” the report’s authors state.
“It is the first time that the number of trans women murdered exceeds the number of gays,” they added.
Mexican civil rights organisation Letra S SIDA reported that criminals had formed gangs dedicated to targeting gay men, whom they first seduce before attacking and robbing them.
Speaking to news site EFE, Letra S SIDA executive director Alejandro Brito said this worrying trend was unprecedented.
“We hadn’t seen gang attacks before, like those that occur in the United States or Europe.”
The most homicides in the period were recorded last year, when 76 LGBT people were killed..
Letra S SIDA, which collected figures from 70 media outlets due to the difficulties of accessing court reports, also stated that so far this year, 20 LGBT people have been murdered
Of these, 13 victims were trans women, six were gay men and one was a bisexual man.
The group found that 33 of the victims’ bodies showed signs of torture and 15 showed signs that they had been subjected to sexual violence – figures which the report’s authors warn could be higher.
Only 64 suspects were identified for the 202 murders – less than one-third – while just 17 of the cases were classified as primarily a hate crime.
Gay victims were most likely to be found in their homes having been stabbed or strangled, while trans women were mostly left on public roads or vacant lots, having been shot dead.
Last month, LGBT rights activist and freelance reporter Juan Jose Roldan was found dead in Tlaxcala, a town east of Mexico City.
Neighbours said his body “showed signs of torture,” with publications reporting that his body was burned with acid during the murder.
