FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 28, 2016
CONTACT: Elliot Imse, Director of Communications, elliot.imse@victoryfund.org
Honduran LGBTI Leaders Join Victory Institute to
Improve Media Coverage of LGBTI Community
Two-day training in Tegucigalpa one in series of skills-based trainings
Washington, DC – Today Victory Institute and Somos CDC opened a two-day training for Honduran leaders working to increase LGBTI political participation and improve the national dialogue on LGBTI rights. The training in Tegucigalpa intends to reinforce and expand on skills provided during a larger LGBTI leadership conference last October, and specifically focuses on using media to further equality. Twenty-five people from leadership and communication positions in LGBTI organizations are in attendance, and will learn techniques for securing affirmative media attention for their community.
“Fair and representative media coverage is essential to creating space for LGBTI political participation in Honduras and around the world,” said Victory Institute President & CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills. “Increasing participation transforms how government responds to the needs and concerns of our communities, and ultimately improves lives for LGBTI people. Despite violence and intimidation, these 25 leaders are joining Victory Institute and Somos CDC to learn and strategize how to improve equality for all Hondurans. They are truly an inspiration.”
Participants at the training will learn how to frame LGBTQ issues, stay on message, and proactively seek positive stories about the community. The media training is the second in a series of issue-specific module trainings following last year’s LGBTI leadership conference in Tegucigalpa, which hosted 300 participants and was organized by Victory Institute and partners.
The training is also a sad reminder of the continued violence and discrimination LGBTI people face in Honduras and across Central America. Just days before the first module training in June, planned participant and LGBTI activist Rene Martinez was tortured and murdered, in what many suspect was a hate crime. The Honduran lesbian rights group Cattrachas estimates 227 LGBTI people have been killed in the country since 2009. Honduran advocates aim to hold state institutions and government accountable for anti-LGBTI violence and discrimination, but much work remains.
Across the globe, Victory Institute’s International Program trains LGBTI leaders and collaborates with political parties and state institutions to increase political participation for LGBTI communities. The Program currently has projects in the Balkans, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, India, Peru, and South Africa.
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Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute
The Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute works to increase the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in public office and to provide programming, service, and other support to ensure their success.
