Affirmation Venezuela together with IMSEMA and other NGOs holds a gathering to analyze what the year 2023 was like in matters of LGBTQI+ Rights
Last Thursday, December 14, 2023, together with the Municipal Institute for Sexodiversity of Maracaibo (@mcbodiversidad), Affirmation Venezuela together with other LGBTQI+ NGOs in Maracaibo, we held the first of a series of gatherings organized by IMSEMA. On this occasion, the topic to be addressed was “What was the year 2023 like in terms of LGBTQI+ rights” to raise awareness about the progress and delays that have occurred on the topic and what the strategies should be for next year.
In this sense, we could say that actions such as the repeal of article 565 of the Organic Code of Military Justice, the activation of the Municipal Institute for Sexual Diversity of Maracaibo and the discussion of laws against discrimination (at the national and municipal levels) are rays of hope in a time where the increase in the radicalization of hate speech against LGBTQI+ people on social networks and from public figures is notable, which has a significant impact on cases of discrimination and violence, among which we can mention the Case of the 33 and the 4 trans women cruelly murdered this year in our country.
In a global context where in some countries there is progress in LGBTQI+ matters but in others the criminalization of our existence is gaining ground (example: Uganda, Russia) our future feels uncertain and these actions, although they fall short of the urgency of our needs, They are pleasantly welcome.
In 2024, we hope that in our country and in our municipality there will be progress in laws and ordinances against discrimination that will reduce the cases of exclusion and violence that people from vulnerable groups experience every day. We also hope that progress will be made in legislative matters such as equal marriage, the right to identity of trans and non-binary people, the classification of hate crimes and the elimination of the prohibition on donating blood applied to LGBTQI+ people.
