Sometimes we debate on whether to report on a story that is so horrific, it is bound to be triggering and upsetting. However, without such brutal reality the victims are too easily erased and their stories forgotten. 

A 33-year-old trans woman, Elizabeth Rondón went out with a group of ‘friends’ on Sunday June 13 in Miranda, Venezuela, only to be mocked and set upon by these same ‘friends’ leading to a scuffle and ultimately her murder.

According to her loved ones, Elizabeth was a quiet and charismatic wooman and made her meagre living selling vegetables in the Santa Cruz del Este neighbourhood of the Baruta municipality.

Witnesses say she had been seen arguing with her ‘friends’ on a night out who apparently regularly mocked her for being trans. After beating her unconscious for standing up for herself, her body was found decapitated with her limbs and jaw also removed.

Elizabeth is the fourth member of the LGBTQ+ community to be murdered this year already in Baruta according to advocacy group Never Stop Dreaming. They also said that the authorities are indifferent to these horrific crimes and that trans women’s lives are just not recognised. 

These are the stories we NEED to report on, to shake us out of our comfort zones and remember how lucky so many of us have it. These are the stories that should spur us into action and remind us that Pride isn’t just about visibility and equality, it’s about life and death.