Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute presented a study on LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex) political participation in Honduras, on February 16 in Tegucigalpa, and February 17 in San Pedro Sula. The main findings showed that LGBTQI people’s top priorities for political parties are security, access to justice, human rights protections, and LGBTQI political participation.
LGBTQI people highlighted security, access to justice, protections of human rights, and political participation of LGBTQI people as the main issues that they would like political parties to work on. This view is consistent with that of the political parties’ directives, that considered also those measures as the main priorities for them to meet regarding LGBTQI people.
The study also showed that 81% of the LGBTQI population in the country don’t think political parties are including their needs into their work, which aligns with recent surveys that revealed that 79% of the general population don’t trust political parties. At the same time, the research discovered that a greater number of LGBTQI people voted during the last general elections, 71% according to the survey, compared to the 61% of total voter turnout in the country.
The goal of the study was to look at how LGBTQI people are participating in their democracy in Honduras, in order to find ways to increase their involvement in the political process. The research will be used to help political parties to be more inclusive of this population. Understanding the needs of LGBTQI people by political parties in Honduras could lead to an increase on diversity within their political structures and candidates.
Victory has partnered with Somos CDC since 2015 with the aim to boost political participation of LGBTQI people. Among other activities, both organizations held the Second Meeting of LGBTQI Political Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean, that brought together more than 350 people in 2015 from all over the continent. A Central American School of LGBTQI Political Leadership was also held during 2016 in Honduras. Some of those trainees are currently taking part on the primaries in Honduras, ahead of the next general elections, such as Erick Martinez.
The study, commissioned by Victory, in partnership with Somos CDC, Corporación Caribe Afirmativo, and the National Democratic Institute, included anonymous surveys to over 700 LGBTQI persons, in-depth interviews with the executive teams of all the parties with political representation in the Honduran Parliament, and interviews with LGBTQI leaders. The research was supported by Astraea, the Inter-American Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy, and USAID.
Read the full study .
