involved bisexuals. Hate crimes generally refer to criminal acts that are motivated by bias
against persons belonging to a certain social group, usually defined by race, religion,
sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity,
social status or political affiliation.
Negative stereotypes and prejudice in general towards LGBT persons trigger intense
hatred. At the same time, violence against women is high as reported by many women’s
organizations, including UN Women Philippines. Under these conditions, LBT persons
are subjected to feelings of male superiority usually rooted in patriarchal attitudes, which
compound the homophobia and transphobia and motivates violent crimes against them.
For example, several lesbians were murdered because of intense resentment by male
perpetrators who felt justified to kill lesbians because they posed a threat. These men felt
lesbians have no right to “steal” their women.11 Some of the perpetrators murdered
lesbians for “leading their female relatives to immorality and live sinful lives.”12
Police investigations of crimes against LBT persons often are inconclusive. A series of
drive-by shootings in 2011 of transgender women in Cebu City by unidentified men
using pellet guns is still unresolved.13 The justice system also takes an uneven approach
to hate crimes against transgender women. In December 2015, the Court meted out a low
penalty to the killer of Jennifer Laude, a transwoman, allowing for the mitigating
circumstance that the perpetrator’s actions were motivated by his realization that Laude
was a transgender woman. The Court disregarded evidence of clear use of superior
strength by the perpetrator who was a trained United States marine who knocked Laude
unconscious, weakening her defense, dragged her unconscious body to the toilet bowl
and flushed the lever, drowning her in the toilet bowl. Such a ruling sends a message that
hate crimes including murder carry little or low consequances if the victims are LBT
persons.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is recommended that the Philippine government take immediate steps to
address hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,
including steps to enact legislation prohibiting gender-based violence
targeting persons for being lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
11
Love Triangle in tomboy’s death. Juliet de Loza, Abante, Sept 8, 2011; Police in Zamboanga have started a manhunt
for a male suspect in the massacre of a woman and her family. According to the police the main suspect who is being
hunted was jealous and deeply resentful to the woman’s reported relationship with a lesbian who recently visited the
woman’s home. The police said that the mode of killings indicated that one of the three to four men believed to have
carried out the massacre harbored deep anger toward the victims because the killers stabbed and axed the victims to
death near midnight while they were asleep and none of the female victims had been sexually abused. Police hunt
Zamboanga del Sur killers. Hernan dela Cruz. Inquirer Mindanao, Sept. 28, 2011.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/66815/police-hunt-zamboanga-del-sur-killers
12
Tomboy lover stabbed. Alvin Madan, Abante, Jun. 28, 2011.
13
Victims reported that when the attack took place they were just either in front of their homes or walking in the streets
and in one incident the assailants onboard a white minivan stopped in front of a group of transgender women and fired
successive shots at them Transgender Pellet Attack in Cebu. Carine Asutilla, ABS-CBN News Central Visayas Oct 13,
2011 http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/10/13/11/pellet-gun-attacks-target-gays-cebu
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