The statistics on violent crimes against members of the sexual diversity community are alarming. Since the coup d’etat in 2009, there have been 131 transgender persons killed in Honduras.
Melissa Núñez, age 25, was born as Kelvin Núñez. She was a well-known human rights defender. Because of her activism for sexual and gender minorities, Melissa had a strong following on social media, with over 20,000 followers on TikTok. As Melissa was walking to her home in Morocelí, El Paraíso Department, on October 19, unknown hooded assassins got out of a car and shot her several times—in the middle of the afternoon. She died as the result of two gunshots to her head.
Melissa Núñez became the 34th LGBTI+ person killed in Honduras this year, and the 434th member of the sexual diversity community murdered since the 2009 coup d’etat. The rate of impunity for crimes against the sexual diversity community is 91%.
Melissa Núñez, ¡presente!