The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) together with Organización de Transexuales por la Dignidad de la Diversidad (OTD), is urging Chilean authorities to perform an exhaustive investigation in to the February 5th assault of Nicol Vicuña and put an end to end to any and all threats, harassment and aggression against trans people in Chile.

IGLHRC and OTD have written to the Mayor of Valparaíso and the Ministers of Interior and Public Security, External Relations, Secretary General of the Government, National Service for Women (Sernam), and Health. We are urging these Ministers to shoulder their responsibility to put an end to all forms of violence and discrimination based on gender identity or expression and sexual orientation.

Below is a copy of the letter to the Chilean Authorities.

Download a PDF of the full letter »

Mr. Raúl Celis Montt
Governor of the Region of Valparaíso
Gobierno Regional de Valparaíso - GOREV
Melgarejo 669 - Piso 7, Región de Valparaíso, Chile
Tel: +56 3 2265 200
Email: rcelis@segegob.cl

Mr. Andrés Chadwick Piñera
Minister of Interior and Public Security
Subsecretary of Interior and Human Rights Program
Palacio de La Moneda s/n
Santiago, Chile
Tel: +56 2 6904 000
Fax: +56 2 6968 740
Email: achadwick@interior.gob.cl

Mr. Alfredo Moreno Charme
Minister of External Relations
Teatinos 180, Santiago
Tel: +56 2 8274 200
Email: amoreno@minrel.gov.cl

Mrs. Cecilia Pérez Jara
Minister Secretary General of the Government
Palacio de La Moneda s/n –
Tel: +56 2 6904 000
Email: cperez@msgg.gob.cl

Mrs. Carolina Schmidt
Minister of the National Service for Women (Sernam)
Huérfanos 1219 Santiago Centro, Santiago
Tel: +56 2 25496 100
Email: cschmidt@sernam.cl

Mr. Jaime Mañalich
Minister of Health
Mac Iver 541, Santiago, Chile
Tel: +56 2 25740 100
Email: jmanalich@minsal.cl

Mr. Luis Castillo Fuenzalida
Subsecretary of Assistance Networks, Ministry of Health
Mac Iver 541, Santiago, Chile
Tel: +56 2 574 010
Email: lcastillo@minsal.cl

February 11, 2013

RE: Assault of trans woman in Valparaíso, Chile

Dear Mayor Celis,
Dear Minister Chadwick,
Dear Minister Moreno,
Dear Minister Pérez,
Dear Minister Schmidt,
Dear Minister Mañalich,
Dear Undersecretary Castillo,

I write to you from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), to express my deep concern regarding the violent assault of Nicol Vicuña, a trans woman from Valparaíso, Chile, on February 5, 2013. IGLHRC firmly condemns this assault and urges the authorities of Chile to take all appropriate measures to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.

In the morning of February 5, 2013, in Valparaíso, an unknown assailant viciously attacked Nicol Vicuña, a 22-year-old trans woman. The attacker beat her several times in the face and body. According to the information that we have received, the attacker approached Nicol Vicuña to pay for sexual services she was offering on the street, before abducting her and taking her near the train station, where several individuals beat her. Ms. Vicuña’s attackers beat her several times in the face leaving a large a laceration next to her right eye and potentially causing her to lose sight in the eye. Both Valparaíso City Councilwoman Zuliana Araya and Nicol Vicuña’s relatives are filing a criminal complaint as a result of the attack.

IGLHRC notes with extreme concern that, as of today, no governmental authority has publicly condemned Nicol Vicuña’s assault. It is of vital importance that the authorities of Chile stop allowing the victims of such gruesome attacks to be invisible.

In addition, IGLHRC recalls with dismay that this is not an isolated incident. On the contrary, harassment and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTTI) persons in Chile happen frequently within the climate of hostility– attacks that clearly target LGBT people because of their gender identity or expression or/and on their sexual orientation.

IGLHRC also recalls that the recently adopted Antidiscrimination Law explicitly acknowledges gender identity, as well as sexual orientation, as suspect categories of discrimination (Article 2, Subsection 1). When a trans person, such as Nicol Vicuña, is attacked the discriminatory ground of gender identity is suspected a priori. We further recall that the motive of gender identity constitutes an aggravating factor of criminal responsibility for the serious injuries she suffers.

Furthermore, Chile has ratified ten international and regional treaties on human rights, including the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the American Convention on Human Rights.

In particular, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” – a right that finds itself reiterated in Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the American Convention on Human Rights.

In addition, Chile voted in favor of Resolution 17/19 on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, approved by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2011, as well as in favor of the five resolutions on the same issue that have been adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) since 2008.

Following Resolution 17/19, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) identified murder, beatings, kidnappings, rape and sexual assault against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people as “homophobic and transphobic violence … [that] constitute a form of gender-based violence, driven by a desire to punish those seen as defying gender norms,” and that violence against LGBT people “tends to be especially vicious compared to other bias-motivated crimes.” In this regard, the OHCHR explicitly instructed, “The State has an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent, punish and redress deprivation of life,” and to investigate and prosecute all acts of targeted violence.”

Finally, we recall that, in a similar perspective, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), of which Chile is a member, has repeatedly condemned violent acts targeting LGBTTI persons in Latin America and the Caribbean, reiterating that “the ineffectiveness of the state response fosters high rates of impunity, which in turn lead to the chronic repetition of such crimes,” and urging States to “take action to prevent and respond to these human rights abuses.”

Recommendations:

It is critical that the authorities of Chile shoulder their responsibility to put an end to all forms of violence and discrimination based on gender identity or expression and sexual orientation. IGLHRC therefore strongly urges the Chilean authorities to:

1. Carry out an immediate and exhaustive investigation of the assault of Nicol Vicuña, in accordance with due process requirements, in order to identify those responsible and apply all criminal sanctions available to full extent of the law. Charges of the assailant should take into account Ms. Vicuña’s gender identity as an aggravating factor of responsibility, in conformity with the provisions of the Antidiscrimination Law;
2. Adopt all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological safety of Nicol Vicuña, as well as her relatives’, who have been exposed to the threat of reprisal;
3. Put an end to any and all threats, harassment and aggression against trans people in Chile, and, more generally, to all forms of violence and discrimination against any individual on the basis of that person’s actual or perceived gender identity, gender expression and/or sexual orientation;
4. More generally, ensure effective respect for the right to a life free from discrimination and violence, in accordance with international and regional human rights standards and instruments ratified by Chile, including the adoption and implementation of public policies and campaigns allowing to make LGBTTI persons visible and develop appropriate educational programs.

Sincerely,
Jessica Stern
Executive Director

CC
Mrs. Lorena Fries Monleón, Directora del Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos
Av. Eliodoro Yáñez 832, Providencia, Santiago
Teléfono: +56 2 2887 8800

Endorsed by:
Organización de Transexuales por la Dignidad de la Diversidad (OTD), Chile

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is an organization devoted to human rights advocacy on behalf of people who experience violence or discrimination on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

Contact information:

IGLHRC: Jessica Stern jstern@iglhrc.org
OTD: Andrés Rivera, andresrivera@transexualesdechile,org
otdcontacto@transexualesdechile.org