*****May be triggering due to discussion of extreme violence**************
In the last four weeks the bodies of five transgender women in Honduras have been found. The murder of women, especially transgender women, has been on the rise following the June 28, 2009 coup. According to the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, prior to the most recent murders, there have been 31 deaths of LGBTI people in Honduras in the last year and a half.
In the most recent incidents, the media is reporting that these women showed signs of physical and sexual assault. According to Planet Transgender :
On December 22, 2010 in Comayagüela, 23-year-old Lorenza Alexis Alvarado Hernández was found dead, her body visibly beaten and burned. There were also signs of rape and she was beaten so badly, perhaps even stoned, that it was difficult to recognize her.
The same day, Lady Oscar Martinez Salgado, age 45, was found burned to death in her home in Barrio El Rincón of Tegucigalpa. Her body showed multiple stab wounds.
Less than two weeks later, on January 2, 2011, a young transgender woman known only as Cheo was found murdered on the main street of Colonia Alameda in Tegucigalpa. Her body was left without legal documentation. She appears to have died from a severe stab wound to her chest.



