A new report indicates transgender women in Central America remain particularly vulnerable to discrimination and violence. The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Trans People, which is known by the Spanish acronym REDLACTRANS, and its affiliate organizations in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama began collecting data last March.

The report indicates the life expectancy of trans women in El Salvador is less than 35 years because of rampant violence. REDLACTRANS’ report also notes that police in Panama and other Central American countries routinely target trans women for abuse and other mistreatment. Many trans women also engage in sex work or so-called “survival sex” because of a lack of employment opportunities.

The report also notes trans women in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama frequently lack formal education and access to health care because of their gender identity. “[The report’s] primary objective is to generate documented evidence about the violence suffered by our trans counterparts in the region,” reads the report.

The report contains a series of recommendations that includes the passage of laws that “recognize and guarantee the right of trans people to freely exercise their gender identity.” Read more via Washington Blade