Theatre to commemorate Trans Day of Remembrance in the Dominican Republic
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), together with Civil Society Organisations such as Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA), Comunidad de Trans, Travestis y Trabajadoras Sexuales Dominicanas (COTRAVETD), Trans Este Podemos Avanzar (TEPA), Trans Unidas Dominicana (TUD), Escalando Poblaciones Claves Trans, Comunidad Lesbianas Inclusivas Dominicanas (COLESDOM), Individuos Unidos por el Respeto y la Armonía (IURA), Coordinadora Lésbica y de Hombres Trans (COLEHT), Voluntariado GLBT and ImberbeRD colectivo de hombres Trans Dominicano commemorated Trans Day of Remembrance with the premiere of the theatre play “Varones”, under the direction of Isabel Spencer. “Varones” highlights the challenges faced by the LGBTI community in their daily life in the Dominican Republic.
Ever since November 20th, 1999, the international community celebrates Trans Day of Remembrance as a way of memorializing those who have been murdered for being transgender, and to draw attention to the stigma, discrimination and violence still faced by the transgender community around the globe.
This commemoration day was started by the trans activits Gwendolyn Ann Smith in memory of the murder of Rita Hester in Massachusetts. Rita Hester was an African-American trans woman murdered on November 1998. In response to her murder and to the little respect that the media showed to the victim, hundreds of people participated in a vigil in which they expressed their grief and indignation.
“The struggle for the rights of trans people is incorporated into the one we fight for human rights. Public policies that promote respect for diversity and inclusion of transgender people are needed: this will be essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals with which the Dominican Republic is fully committed, making sure we leave no-one behind”, said Luciana Mermet, Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP.
The event was also attended by Víctor Terreo, executive director of CONAVIHSIDA; Gabriel Godoy, head of Mission of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); Begoña Gómez, Focal point of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as various diplomatic representatives, public officials, and managers from trans, lesbian, gay, and queer organizations, as well as the general public.
This activity was carried out under the framework of the “Being LGBTI in the Caribbean” regional project, that seeks to increase LGBTI representation in national and regional fora, as well as to ensure access to full citizenship, so that LGBTI persons can fully enjoy the rights to which they are entitled as human beings under the core principle of leaving no-one behind enshrined in the 2030 Agenda.
This article was originally published in Spanish at UNDP’s Dominican Republic website.
