On August 30 and 31, CORPORA EN LIBERTAD, International Network for Working with LGTBI+ People in Deprivation of Liberty, Almas Cautivas AC and Interculturalidad Salud y Derechos AC, met during the II International Congress on Work in Favor of LGBTI+ Persons Deprived of Liberty, which took place in Mexico City.

The activists' objective was to raise awareness of the violation of rights and systematic discrimination faced by LGBTI+ populations in prison.

In different interventions, the common denominator was that this is an agenda that has historically been forgotten and that the reality and personal circumstances of LGBTI+ people in detention centers and with sexual orientations and gender identities that dissent from the predominant stereotypes of heteronormativity have been rendered invisible.

Activists representing civil organisations grouped in the Corpora en Libertad Network and international entities (such as Gilead Creating Possible, NielseIQ and Arcus Foundation) discussed the main obstacles that LGBTI+ people deprived of their liberty in penitentiary centres face in fully exercising their human rights, as well as the difficulties in finding a job once they have served their sentences.

The intervention of Ari Vera, president of Almas Cautivas, stood out. She pointed out that the Corpora en Libertad Network is fighting to abolish the prison system, since the detention centers do not fulfill the task of social reintegration, which is why civil organizations are working on a reform to the federal Penal Code that would seek to ensure that LGBTI+ people serve their sentences free of stigma and violence.

The activist called for the Mexican prison system to adopt the National LGBTTI+ Action Protocol to eliminate discriminatory behavior. He also expressed surprise at the decision taken by the Undersecretary of the Penitentiary System of Mexico City not to share a protocol developed jointly with civil organizations.

He noted that the Corpora en Libertad Network seeks to influence public policies that benefit these populations, in addition to demanding that the Mexican State guarantee the right to social reintegration, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Participants repeatedly denounced that there are reports of sentences handed down “far above the crime committed” due to prejudice and “homo, lesbian, bi and transphobia” of those who dispense justice.

They expressed their concern about the lack of political will on the part of decision-makers to listen to the demands of LGBTI+ people deprived of their liberty. They stressed that comprehensive and joint work with civil organizations is necessary to address these demands.