expression as a means of understanding violence against LGBT persons, as it makes it possible to identify the social context in which such violence manifests itself.124 57. In that connection, the Commission has given particular attention to violence based on prejudice toward the gender identity and gender expression of trans persons, especially trans women. It has reiterated that the majority of trans women are caught up in a cycle of violence, discrimination, and criminalization that generally starts at a very early age owing to the exclusion and violence suffered at home, in the community, and at school. According to data collected by the IACHR, 80% of trans persons killed were 35 years of age or younger.125 It also found that they are particularly vulnerable to violence at the hands of State security forces charged with law enforcement.126 58. The Commission has stated that when someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans, or perceived as such, is attacked or killed, the State must conduct an investigation to determine whether the crime was committed based on the real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim or victims.127 Determining whether or not violence against LGBT persons is based on prejudice requires an exhaustive investigation of the reasons for the violence, carried out under the principle of due diligence. 128 59. Without seeking to suggest that it is an exhaustive list, the Commission considers that the following elements, among others, may be indicative of a crime based on prejudice, particularly when they occur in combination: (i) the presence of a known bias against LGBT persons on the part of the perpetrator, or situations in which the perpetrator is part of a group which is considered to be biased against LGBT persons; (ii) the brutality of the crime and signs of animosity; (iii) the victim’s status as an activist in LGBT issues or a defender of LGBT persons and their rights; or (iv) the nature or significance of the place where the violence or incident took place, or from where the victims were lured (for example, a place known to be frequented by LGBT persons, or an area where sex work involving trans persons is known to take place). 129 The Commission has also stressed that what is decisive for the purposes of establishing the extent of the State’s obligation is that from the very beginning of the investigation there be an examination of the motives of the attack, and that this examination include consideration of the relevance of the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity, whether real or perceived. A hypothesis that the crime was motivated by prejudice can thereby be confirmed or ruled out during the course of the investigation. 130 The Commission found that in murders of LGBT persons or people perceived as such, trans women and trans persons with female gender identities are more likely to be killed by firearms, and their bodies were more likely to be found in the streets or other public spaces, and sometimes in situations linked to sex work.131 60. In light of the foregoing, the Commission considers that inter-American jurisprudence developed in cases such as Cotton Field v. Mexico132 and Velásquez Paiz v. Guatemala are wholly applicable to the analysis of cases of prejudice-based violence within the terms of the context described above, for the purposes of clarifying acts of violence or attacks presumably motivated by reasons of gender and, in keeping with the present analysis, prejudice, and that particular consideration should be given to the possible IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 43. 125 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 276. 126 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 26. 127 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 46. 128 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 45. 129 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 504. 130 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 505. 131 IACHR, Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, Doc. 36, November 12, 2015, par. 119. 132 See: I/A Court H.R., Case of Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of November 19, 2015, Series C. No. 307, par. 146. 124