Supporting the LGBT+ community in Guatemala, a multidimensional effort
BY JONATHAN LOTT
Discrimination against members of the LGBTQI+ community in Guatemala still persists today. There are currently no laws prohibiting discrimination relating to employment, housing, health care, or education on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. NGOs and human rights publications indicate that harassment, police abuse, assault, and “corrective” rape still victimize these communities—and civil society organizations report that investigations into these crimes are often not thoroughly conducted.
Because the government response has been lacking in redressing unequal laws and structural violence, a number of grassroots NGOs have taken action to support victims of violence and discrimination at the local and national levels. One of these important NGOs is GAX: Grupo de Apoyo Xela (Help Group Xela). Entering its fifth year in 2024, GAX is pursuing a diverse set of efforts to bring recognition and dignity to the LGBTQI+ community in Guatemala.
One of their most important initiatives is Justicia Abierta (Open Justice), in which GAX collaborates with fifteen other NGOs (including Ixoqib’ MIRIAM, CREAR Escuintla, CICAM, and FLACSO Guatemala, among others) to collate and present government data on discriminatory threats and violence. The freely accessible statistics range from 2017-2024, and indicate incidents and hate crimes against four communities: children, migrants, women, and the LGBTQI+ population. GAX maintains an online database (www.gaxong.gt/justicia-abierta-gax) where researchers and human rights workers can access these crime figures.
However, because the statistics are provided by the Public Ministry, they do not reflect the extent of discrimination against these at-risk groups. These data do not include de jure discrimination, such as denying housing based on one’s sexual preference, which is not a crime in Guatemala. The statistics also do not contain crimes which, for whatever reasons, are not reported or entered into police databases.
Data is an essential first step for awareness and action, since it establishes the facts that can set the context for change. Leonardo Ortega, the director of GAX, explains that collection of full and accurate data is itself part of the justice system. “The lack of political will on the government’s part, of not having an adequate data registry, and appropriately recognizing sexual orientations and gender identities, is an example of an existing debt towards the LGBTIQ+ community,” says Ortega.
GAX is also leading in the efforts to undo employment discrimination in Quetzaltenango. Their “Inclusion, Equity and Opportunity” program holds job fairs which connect LGBTQI+ workers with companies committed to maintaining a workforce free from sexual and gender discrimination. They also conduct free resume workshops, employment consulting, and host a list of job postings. Through this program, many people have been placed into jobs which enable them to work with dignity and rise above institutional discrimination.
Ortega shares the story of one young man who found work through GAX. Forced out from his family home while still a boy, he came to Quetzaltenango, where he was supported by GAX and CRISTOSAL, another human rights NGO. Through this partnership, the individual began working in a restaurant and was soon promoted to become an events manager. His story is one of many.
Building a country free of discrimination also requires a transformation of attitudes both at the local and national levels. To this end, they provide trainings on sexual health, violence prevention, HIV awareness, and human rights in Xela and elsewhere in Quetzaltenango Department. They also maintain an HIV testing center and provide legal, financial, and psychological support to LGBTQI+ victims.Raising political awareness of these structural barriers is also necessary for making change. They advocate for policies which support non-discrimination and respect in Guatemala through social media campaigns, anti-bullying workshops, community outreach, and human rights education.
“In Guatemala, stigma and discrimination towards the LGBTIQ+ community are evident every day, due to a lack of information and knowledge about human rights. LGBTIQphobia is currently present in all sectors of the country,” says Ortega. Like many non-profits working to improve human rights, GAX has faced obstacles from public and private decisionmakers and in the implementation of their educational workshops.
Grupo de Apoyo Xela (www.gaxong.gt) aims to be one of the largest community NGOs in Guatemala, promoting and protecting the rights of young people and the LGBTQI+ community. “We continue to work on inter-institutional and strategic alliances, and on constructing networks of young volunteers,” Ortega explains. ‘We recognize the importance of the involvement of new generations to achieve these significant changes, so all people may freely express their complete identity. It is their future.”
Jonathan Lott I am a writer, teacher, and scholar-practitioner from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Recently, I attended graduate school for my LL.M. in international human rights and humanitarian law at the European University Viadrina in Germany. I am now volunteering at ENTREMUNDOS and another local NGO to promote human rights in the region.
