the Commission finds that the Honduran State was aware of the existence of the context of historical discrimination against LGBT people, particularly against trans persons, which has resulted in violence motivated by prejudice in Honduras, as has been documented over the past several years by civil society organizations 146and by the United Nations.147 Despite that, the State provided no information regarding steps taken to address that context and prevent it from continuing. Indeed, trans persons in Honduras are still not recognized by their gender identity and expression. In that connection, the Commission underscores that the failure legally to recognize the gender identity and expression of trans persons is to deny their very existence. As the United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has noted, the vast majority of trans and gender-diverse persons in the world do not have access to gender recognition by the State. They live in a legal vacuum where stigma and prejudice create a climate that tacitly permits, encourages and rewards with impunity acts of violence and discrimination against them, creating a situation of de facto criminalization.148 77. Nor does the Commission have access to any information about specific preventive measures in the context of the curfew declared at the time of the coup, despite the State having knowledge of the lack of protection with which LGBT persons found themselves, according to the findings as to context. On the contrary, the case of Vicky Hernández was framed, rather, by an increase in violence based on prejudice against trans women in Honduras in the aforementioned context, which denotes a generalized environment of defenselessness. 78. Compounding the foregoing, the Commission underscores that, according to information provided by the petitioners which the state has not contested, two months before she was murdered, Vicky Hernández went to a police station to report that she had been assaulted by a security guard who struck her in the head with a machete, to which the officers responded, “For all we care, you can die.” This information is consistent with the context described in this report, in terms both of the violence and of the lack of an effective response to complaints and the attendant impunity and repetition. 79. Based on the foregoing, the Commission finds that Vicky Hernández was murdered in circumstances where she was clearly defenseless and unprotected against the threats of violence to her as a trans woman and sex worker in the context analyzed above, which also amounts to a breach of the duty to ensure rights. 80. In light of the considerations set out in this section, the Commission concludes that the Honduran State is responsible for violating the rights to life, humane treatment, privacy, freedom of expression, equal protection and nondiscrimination, as well as to live free from violence, recognized at Articles 4(1), 5(1), 11, 13, and 24 of the American Convention taken in conjunction with the obligation to respect and ensure rights enshrined in Article 1(1) of that instrument, and at Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará, to the detriment of Vicky Hernández Martínez. B. Rights to a fair trial, equal protection and nondiscrimination, and judicial protection [Articles 8(1),149 24, and 25(1)150 of the American Convention and Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará] CEJIL, Diagnosis of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity: Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua, San José, Costa Rica, 2013, p. 128 (in Spanish only). 147 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, Theo Van Boven, Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, E/CN.4/2005/62/Add.1, 30 March 2005, pp. 153-154; Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk, Intersections of violence against women and HIV/AIDS, corr., E/CN.4/2005/72/Add.1, 18 March 2005, p. 50. 148 United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, “Protection against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” par. 25. 149 Article 8(1) of the American Convention: Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature. 150 Article 25(1) of the American Convention: Everyone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the 146