Angie Arévalo died after she was stabbed by a 14-year-old during a family altercation. (TransLivesMatter.info)
A trans woman has tragically died after being stabbed to death by a 14-year-old during a family argument in Columbia, local media has reported.
Angie Arévalo died on Saturday, 6 February, after she was stabbed in the chest when a family confrontation turned violent.
The 35-year-old trans woman was stabbed at around 11am that day, and she died just five hours later at the Santa María clinic from her injuries.
She died after a fight broke out at her home in El Porvenir, Sincelejo. The fight was reportedly related to a dispute over property, with family wanting her removed from the premises.
She was the first trans woman in this city, that is why the community feels sad and regrets her death.
Arévalo’s death was mourned by Verena Revollo, secretary for women in Sucre, who offered her “deepest condolences to her family and loved ones” and said more must be done to protect the human rights of the LGBT+ community.
There has been an outpouring of grief from the LGBT+ community in Columbia since Arévalo’s death.
Trans woman Angie Arévalo remembered as ‘mother’ of trans community.
One activist, named only as Fillín, told the El Heraldo that Arévalo was considered the “mother” of the trans community in Columbia.
“She was the first trans woman in this city, that is why the community feels sad and regrets her death,” Fillín said.
Meanwhile, LGBT+ organisation Caribe Affirmative said Arévalo had “a high level of visibility” that resulted in her receiving frequent threats to her life.
Those who threatened her wanted to “neutralise her identity and her gender expression”, the group said.
Activists in the country have called for the attorney general to enact a speedy investigation into Arévala’s murder,
Caribe Affirmative pleaded with the government to “promote and guarantee actions for a dignified life for transgender people” in Columbia.
Transgender people continue to face disproportionate rates of violence across the world.
At least 350 trans people were murdered in 2020, with the average age of those killed just 31. Trans women accounted for 98 per cent of those 350 people.
A large majority of the murders (82 per cent) took place in Central and South America.