By Ricardo Montenegro-Vásquez *
* TODAY we remember that the 17 May 1990 the World Health Organization WHO removed homosexuality from its list of diseases. Although we took a little over 20 years of global resolve to combat homophobia in Colombia, for the time and the present homosexuality is not considered a "normal" situation by high levels of prejudice arising from Catholic religious influence that points to homosexuals as sinners and acts contrary to God's law . In our country only until 1980 homosexuality was decriminalized and only until the issue of the Political Constitution of 1991 was allowed right to free development of personality (Article 16).
Despite not being forbidden, homosexuality is frowned upon by large majorities of the Colombian population and the national government has not made sufficient efforts to ensure that accepted this condition of life and very little to prevent the facts and homophobic attacks are perpetrated against people of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT). In Colombia there are worse crimes or penalties for homophobic attacks and many of the incidents against homosexuals go unpunished.
the past two decades, human rights activists in the LGBT population have observed with regret many of his comrades had to go outside the country or were killed as was the case Freddys Dario Pineda (16 of February 2008), Alvaro Miguel Rivera (6 March 2009) who appeared dead with signs of torture by strangers without even known by the authorities catch those responsible or processes, this pair of representative cases by the cruelty and brutal way as they occurred, are aware of the Organization of American States OAS as well as LGBT groups the world as the International Lesbian and Gay Association, ILGA, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission IGLHRC. But this fact is not new in 1993 was killed León Zuleta one of the founders of the gay liberation movement in Colombia in the seventies; the other co-founder of the movement Manuel Antonio Velandia Mora after a with an explosive attack on his home was exiled in Spain in 2007 , where he was granted asylum in April 2010.
This situation is not only experienced by persons who come within the LGBT activism, ordinary people that make visible their homosexual condition are subject to different behaviors on their lives, honor and property . As one report by the nongovernmental organization Colombia Diversa in our country instead of decreasing increased killings and discrimination against the LGBT community . The report reveals that between 2008 and 2009 have been documented at least: 127 murders because of sexual orientation 57 were gay men, 31 from the category 'homosexual', four lesbians and transgender 35. 74 met violent deaths, 46 bias crimes (caused by the sexual identity of the victim) and seven homicides motivated by prejudice. Between 2006 and 2007 there were 99 homicides. Antioquia reported the highest rank of homicide (51), followed by the Valle del Cauca (19), Bogotá (14) and Risaralda (13). Draws attention to the case of Risaralda, which reported zero homicides in 2006-2007 spent a record thirteen cases between 2008 and 2009. These figures are unofficial because the Colombian government has a tool to provide factual, accurate and true about crime, police assaults and attacks against homosexuals .
Not all sites of the world are safe places for homosexuals in 76 countries still criminalize the homosexual acts, and seven 7 call for the death penalty on grounds of homosexuality . In my opinion, Latin America and Colombia, despite what is written in codes and laws remain a place where homosexuals have no peace of mind to live, where hundreds of thousands have been killed, abused, humiliated and beaten by authorities in their home country, shunned by their families and condemned to alienation by society because of their sexual orientation. 
As stated by the sociologist Manuel Velandia asylum: in Colombia "homophobia is not only cultural but also is internalized and reinforced school, family and society in general and the Catholic Church in Colombia, the right-wing parties and paramilitary groups have made homophobia flag and a reason to stigmatize, exclude, separated socially, forcing the displacement , threatening to kill, kill and commit other hate crimes against LGBT people " . So, nursing is an option for those who have the means recourse to the protection of countries in which respect the freedom, dignity and civil rights of individuals. 
TODAY discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender reflect about the role we play as citizens and we demand the state and society respect our part as members of humanity.
* Lawyer, activist LGBT Human Rights
ACTIVITIES BOGOTA: First week District of Sexual and Gender Diversity
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