The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) again warned today about the serious risk to life and physical and psychological stability faced by homosexual / bisexual men who make appointments through applications or the Internet with other men, while suspecting "Persons or groups organized to commit these crimes"
Movilh's reaction took place after today a 25-year-old subject was arrested after taking the life of Miguel Arenas Rodríguez on Sunday, whose body was found with obvious signs of torture at his home, located in Villa San Andrés de Esmeralda , in Colina.
The subject surrendered to justice due to the pressure made by the OS9, after investigations carried out in Colina
Movlh's spokesman, Oscar Rementería, pointed out that, in relation to “this unfortunate and sad outcome, we will present a complaint with the family next week. Miguel Arenas Rodríguez presented evidence of torture: he was tied hand and foot. It is believed that he could have been raped and inside his mouth he had a stick and / or shirt, an object with which he was suffocated. His cell phone and documents were stolen. All these are signs of a homophobic crime ”.
Rementería added that “with this fact, the number of people who in less than a year have lost their lives in similar circumstances rises to 4. Last year, they killed an 18-year-old, while this year there was a double homicide in La Cisterna. In all cases, the murders occurred at the homes of the victims. Here is a modus operandi and it could be accounting for groups or people organized to commit these crimes.
Added to the murders, Rementería added, "are the complaints of beatings that we receive every month for events that occurred in similar contexts."
Rementería warned that "even when in some cases there is robbery involved, in no case can a homophobic motive be ruled out in advance in these situations"
“Quite the contrary,” he added, “in cases like these, homophobic motivation is a well-founded suspicion, since the perpetrators contact people they know are gay or bisexual, and therefore, they understand that, for the same reason, they are vulnerable , since the meetings are held without notifying friends or family. Abusing vulnerability based on sexual orientation or gender identity is a sign of discrimination ”.
As a result of the abuses and murders against people who arrange meetings for applications, the Movilh has developed an informative and preventive campaign.
“Our recommendation is that people always comment on these appointments to a third party, whom they trust, and that the first meeting always take place in a public and open space, where they can be seen by others. We also recommend choosing profiles linked to a social network with more information about the other person, not revealing the daily routine and avoiding drug use. All this has a dissuasive effect on the victims, ”said Rementería.
Along with the information campaign, the Movilh developed in the last years two studies on the sexual and loving behavior of men who have sex with men, which showed that 84.9% have made appointments through applications or the Internet.
The first survey was applied to 1,216 young people between 15 and 29 years old. Of these, 78% have had many times (28.6%), some times (35.9%), and only once in their life (13.5%) sexual relations with someone known through applications or the Internet. The second survey, applied to 358 men between 30 and 49 years old, showed that 91% have had some times (41.8%), many times (43.2%) or once (6.8%) in their life relationships with strangers with whom he arranged online meetings. Read more via MOVILH