Daniel Santos and Josh Hurn
24 अक्तू॰ 2025
Session summary
Daniel Santos (Portugal) - Daniel holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations and is currently a Master’s student in Peace, Security, and Development Studies at the University of Coimbra. Being a junior researcher from Portugal, their areas of interest are critical studies, especially queer and feminist studies, on resistance, peace and violence, security, democracy, and human rights. As a ReportOUT Human Rights Researcher and Research Lead, they aim to promote, produce, and disseminate knowledge about LGBTQ+ communities and rights, and their increasing experiences of vulnerability and forms of resistance.
Josh Hurn (UK) - Josh is currently studying MSc International Public Policy at University College London. Since joining ReportOUT in 2024, he has contributed to UN reports, online articles, and been a lead researcher on OUT in Mexico from its inception. He has previously worked in the UK House of Commons and for a government department.
Biography
Our presentation will be about the tension between the advances in progressive legislation and how they do not always materialise into the effective improvement of the lived experiences of LGBTTTIQA+ people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Queer, Asexual). In previous years, the Mexican state has adopted increasingly more progressive legislation to protect LGBTTTIQA+ citizens, like the 2024 criminalisation of so-called conversion therapies and prohibition of employment discrimination. However, violence against sexual and gender minorities is pervasive, with Mexico being the second country in the world where more trans people are murdered. To understand this contradiction between legislation and social reality, we undertook an online survey with 20,000 LGBTTTIQA+ individuals living in Mexico to comprehend their experiences of violence in the country. The results show that despite progressive laws, Mexican social institutions, such as education and healthcare, are discriminatory, violently denying the rights of LGBTTTIQA+ individuals. The vast majority of these individuals who have been subjected to violence do not report it to authorities due to a lack of trust in Mexican security forces, which reinforces a culture of impunity. These results can inform a wider debate on how countries guarantee that their progressive laws regarding LGBTTTIQA+ rights are not simply figurative but have real-life impacts in ameliorating their lives and rights.
