2026 May 8 On the day she was sworn in as Costa Rica’s 50th head of state, Laura Fernández announced she would reject the feminine form “presidenta” and require that she be addressed as “presidente”, a decision she framed as a repudiation of what she called “gender ideology.” Fernández,
2026 April 30 Deputy Pablo Sibaja, of the conservative party Nueva República, filed a bill in the Legislative Assembly to reinstate the sex-of-birth field on Costa Rica’s national identity card (cédula). The Supreme Electoral Court had removed that field in 2018 to prevent stigmatization and protect the gender identity
2026 April 21 Attorney Jota Vargas Alvarado and human rights defender Janekeith Durán Barberena filed a formal coadyuvancia (third-party legal joinder) before Costa Rica's Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV) in support of the amparo brought by a trans woman against the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (INCOFER). The original amparo,
2026 April 7 The Costa Rican government announced its withdrawal from the LGBTI Core Group of the Organization of American States (OAS), ending a decade of active participation in the regional forum dedicated to advancing the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people. Foreign Minister Arnoldo André confirmed the decision, which was
2026 April 7 A trans woman filed an amparo (constitutional protection) before Costa Rica's Sala IV after being a victim of transphobic discrimination at the Estación del Atlántico, operated by the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (INCOFER). Security personnel denied her access to the women's bathroom and
2026 January 29 Ahead of Costa Rica's February 2026 general elections, a feminist analysis published by Ojalá examines how conservative and right-wing political forces have systematically attacked gender-based violence prevention and trans rights during the Chaves administration. The analysis documents how an alliance between the Chaves government and
2025 November 27 Costa Rica's Ombudsman (Defensoría de los Habitantes) sounded the alarm on a deepening crisis of violence against women, with 33 femicides recorded in 2025, the highest number in over a decade. 2025 ended as the most violent year for women in the country, with 85
2025 October 29 The Fundación Arias para la Paz y el Progreso Humano (Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress) — the Costa Rican NGO founded in 1988 by former president and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias Sánchez — published an analysis titled "La Violencia que Ataca la Identidad:
2025 October 23 Laura Fernández, then presidential candidate for the chavista party Pueblo Soberano (PPSO) and now president of Costa Rica since May 8, 2026, signed a nine-page letter of commitments with evangelical pastors of the group "Foro Mi País" at the Hilton hotel in San José. The
2025 August 13 A UN report documented 2.1 million hate speech messages on Costa Rican social media, up 16% from 2024 and a staggering 400% increase since 2021. Hate directed at the LGBTIQ+ population saw the sharpest rise of all groups: a 344% increase in a single year, totaling
2025 June The Public Entertainment Control and Rating Commission (CCEP) revoked the "all audiences" classification for Orgullo Costa Rica's closing event for the 2025 Pride March, just days before the scheduled celebration. The decision came through official document CCEP-700-06-2025, overturning the prior approval CCEP-691-06-2025. According to
Feature Isamar Morales, a transgender woman, spent nearly four years incarcerated in Costa Rica's male prisons between 2006 and 2010. Her testimony exposes the brutal conditions trans women face in the country's penitentiary system. During her incarceration, Isamar witnessed a fellow inmate's murder. Facilities
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Voting 5 against and only 1 in favour, Costa Rica's lawmakers reject law 23809, "Ley de Reconocimiento de Identidades Trans, No Binarias, de Género Diverso e Intersex", effectively killing it. Calling it "weird ideology", linking it to pedophiles, accusing it of going against women&
2025 April AMULABI (Asociación Mulabi) submitted a report to Costa Rica's 4th Universal Periodic Review (47th session) documenting ongoing conversion therapy operations in the country, conducted by practitioners backed by US-based religious organizations. The report highlights the legislative blocking by Nueva República's faction of bills seeking
2025 March 5 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR/CIDH) held a public hearing to examine the state of human rights in Costa Rica. Civil society organizations, including CIPAC and Alianza de Mujeres Costarricenses, raised concerns about increasing violence against the LGBTQ population, rising hate speech, and government rollbacks
2025 January 29 President Rodrigo Chaves announced the repeal of Executive Decree 38.999, the "Executive Policy to eradicate discrimination toward the LGBTI population from its institutions", and the elimination of the dedicated LGBTQ commissioner that had been established by former president Carlos Alvarado. The Presidential Social Council
This website is a compilation of news, articles, interviews and reports concerning violence against trans, nonbinary and gender diverse people specifically in Costa Rica. It is maintained by a transperson who left the country looking for a life with dignity for them and their family. There's the widespread
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Activist for trans population human rights. No news coverage. Link in Spanish: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1033538565466816&id=100064320476993&rdid=V4gRa59W1Tx2GrPv News article from 2016 where she talks about her experience being a sex worker: ‘¿Qué sienten al dañarnos? ¿Satisfacción? ¿En serio?’Tiffany Ortega
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Laisa died after being stabbed multiple times early on the morning of Sunday 27th October. The identity of her killer(s) and motive for the attack are not known. Link in English: Remembering Our Dead - Laisa Camacho (27 Oct 2024)Laisa Camacho was 56 and was stabbed in El
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Dayana Hernandez, one of Costa Rica’s most important trans-rights activists, dies at age 40. She died from long-term complications caused by biopolymer injections. She was an activist, and the first trans woman to stand as a deputy to the Legislative Assembly in 2018. Lacking support for gender affirming care
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2024 June 30 In June 2024, the government of Costa Rica fired two officials after they signed a declaration of cultural interest for the country's LGBT Pride March.The government claimed the march did not have the necessary permits, but the event organizers denied it. The Pride March
2024 May 17 Government doesn’t commemorate day against homophobia, lesbophobia and transphobia for the third year in a row.
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2023 December 31 Trans woman and activist Juliana “Gata” Elizondo was murdered. No news coverage. Links in Spanish: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsol.fp%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0eRrTR8LALBmsmUWbhdBJcTq9udHA3MwMeDnpktScUfUk9CcH4zadESnpiLPFB6H8l&show_text=true&width=500 https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?
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2023 September 9 Trans rights activists physically attacked by police in Costa Rica while at a public demonstration. Links in Spanish: Activistas de protesta contraatacan y ahora son ellos los que denuncian violencia policial • Semanario UniversidadActivistas y fotoperiodistas aseguran que fueron víctimas de empujones, golpes, insultos y otros abusos por