OUT in Mexico
Sexual and gender minorities in Mexico face multiple layers of violence in a litany of both private and public spaces. Our report, 'OUT in Mexico: Lo que no se nombra, no existe' or 'What cannot be named, does not exist' (May 2025) documents the lived experiences of violence to LGBTQ+ people in the country. It was produced in partnership with Mexican LGBTQ+ organisation Contramapeo who co-devised and distributed a survey to people from sexual and gender minorities.
The study took place over a one-year period
and was constructed to map the lived experiences of violence to sexual and gender minorities in Mexico. Over 20,000 people responded to the survey. First published May 2025. .
Photo credit: Thelmadatter - Mexico City
“People are always making aggressive comments toward the community” (Respondent from OUT in Mexico study)
The report presents a picture of LGBTQ+ communities in Mexico that suffer from multiple and intersectional forms of violence. Violence and discrimination against sexual and gender minorities are the norm in Mexico, especially against multiple marginalised groups such as trans communities, Indigenous groups, and migrant and refugee communities. Verbal violence is especially widespread in major Mexican cities, where these communities feel more insecure. Meanwhile, it is in these same major Mexican cities that the higher proportions of LGBTQ+ people feel more secure, revealing a quite ambivalent atmosphere of violence in Mexican society.
Additionally, a growing number of LGBTQ+ individuals in Mexico report the private and educational spaces as the most violent towards people with non-normative sexualities and gender identities. It is noteworthy that some LGBTQ+ people also cite violence from law enforcement authorities, which indicates a strong culture of impunity or ‘turning a blind eye’ to anti-LGBTQ+ violence, leading many victims to feel unsafe if they publicly denounce or report their lived experiences of violence.
This study demonstrates how anti-discrimination laws are not sufficiently embedded to prosecute those who commit anti-LGBTQ+ crimes. These laws do not adequately address the issues of stigmatisation and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in Mexico, indicating the need for further societal change. We propose a list of highly recommended legislative proposals.
The key findings of our “OUT in Mexico” research found that
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Discrimination against LGBTTTIQA+ people in Mexico is the norm, with 88.5% of this group reporting that, at least once in their lives, they have experienced violence and discrimination.
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LGBTTTIQA+ individuals from particularly marginalised groups, such as trans communities, indigenous communities, and migrant and refugee communities, are especially vulnerable to violence.
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Verbal anti-LGBTTTIQA+ violence is widespread in Mexico. Among the 17,616 respondents who answered positively in question six, nearly 68% of them indicated that they had experienced verbal aggression.
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Major Mexican states and cities offer an ambivalent context where LGBTTTIQA+ people may feel both more insecure and safe at the same time.
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Violence in the private sphere, especially within an individual’s family, is the most common form of anti-LGBTTTIQA+ violence in Mexico.
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A growing number of LGBTTTIQA+ Mexicans report violent and discriminatory experiences in education - 78% of respondents to a survey analysed in our literature review had not been taught about the rights of LGBTTTIQA+ people. A total of 773 trans individuals reported being victims of violence at the hands of the Ministry of Public Education or public schools.
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Violence from law enforcement authorities reinforces a strong culture of impunity against anti-LGBTTTIQA+ violence, as many victims feel unsafe in publicly denouncing and reporting their lived experiences of violence.
*LGBTTTIQA is the initialism widely used by advocacy groups in Mexico although our style for this site is to use the shorter initials LGBTQ+. We use the longer term in the report and these headlines.